


It Calls For You

by AnimeGirl_144



Category: Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall
Genre: OC centric story, There's more characters but I can't list all of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 67,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22852315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnimeGirl_144/pseuds/AnimeGirl_144
Summary: Alice's life is thrown off-kilter in a very short amount of time, and the girl is just trying to get things figured out again. Fuse and his planet invading isn't helping matters at all. Alice doesn't want to get involved, but something calls her to join the fight against the alien invasion.
Kudos: 6





	1. In the Beginning

The perpetual gray clouds hung over Eternal Meadow's cemetery like a blanket, creating an eerie atmosphere that sent shivers down the spines of even the bravest souls. On a typical day, Alice Spacebyte would be frightened of the place, even if she was walking on the other side of the street. But Alice wasn't frightened, and today wasn't typical.

Today, she was burying her mother.

Sitting perfectly still in a simple black dress and matching black flats, Alice watched Dr. Gale Spacebyte's coffin lower into the ground. The death had come out of nowhere. It had happened on a Monday only three weeks into spring semester at Pokey Oaks Junior High. Alice had been in her third period class when she was called into Principal Goodvibes' office to be given the news by Officer Valerosa. It had been a complete accident. Her mother had been returning home from her shift at Memorial Hospital, using the DexLabs bus sliders as she always did, when the vehicle fell off its railing. There were no safety restraints on the vehicle, and so her mother had fallen off ahead of the vehicle, and was ultimately crushed by it. She was dead before emergency crews could reach the accident site.

The news had numbed Alice to the core; all feeling had left her and had yet to return. Loneliness and grief were all that remained. Her Aunt Muriel had picked her up from school and took her to the middle of Nowhere, where the elderly woman and her husband, Eustace, lived. They were the only closest living relatives she had, especially since she had no father to fall back on. Alice spent her days hiding away in the spare room of the old house, often accompanied by the family pet, Courage.

Sitting through the funeral service was painful for the twelve-year-old. As Gale's only offspring, she was placed in the first seat of the first row, with her aunt to the right of her, holding her hand the entire time. Her aunt was sitting tall with her shoulders back, a sad little frown on her face. She wasn't crying, not like Alice was, but Alice knew her aunt was feeling the loss of her youngest sister all the same. Muriel was now an only child; her other sister, Dorothy, had died years ago. She tried to put up a strong front for her niece, but Alice had heard her aunt sobbing night after night after Eustace would go off to bed. Her aunt was just as affected by the loss as she was; she was just hiding it better.

Her Uncle Eustace was sitting beside his wife. He wasn't in grief like her aunt and she were, but he didn't mock or say something snarky through the service. Her mother and him had an animated relationship, and more than one time they would get into heated arguments over the simplest things. Her mother had explained to her, one day, that this was their way of showing that they loved each other. His silence was probably proof that deep, deep down, he really did love his sister-in-law.

Her cousin Fred wasn't in attendance. He couldn't make it because he was busy overseas with his business, and Alice was slightly glad he couldn't show; her uncle preferred to call him freaky over his actual name, and Alice agreed with him wholeheartedly. He had such an obsession with cutting hair that he'd threatened Alice and Courage with a pair of rusty scissors on many occasions, up until Gale had put her foot down and forbade the man from cutting anyone's hair in the family. Fred was a terrifying figure, but her mother had been a woman _no one_ dared to cross.

The funeral service was attended by hundreds of people who loved Gale, not just the deceased woman's family. Her mother had always been a popular soul in comparison to her daughter's own social life, which was non-existent. Students ignored her and teachers overlooked her entirely. Mr. Green, the permanent substitute teacher since their regular English teacher, Mr. Warburton, was out on medical leave, was the only person who seemed to care about her. Alice couldn't exactly blame them, since Alice didn't like to talk to people. As a little girl she had been bullied because of her unnatural blue hair, which she has had since birth. The experience had her feeling left out, a feeling that stuck with her all her life.

The coffin was fully lowered into the ground, and the cemetery workers began to fill up the hole from the dirt pile sitting beside it. The tombstone would be put up later in the afternoon, and would be viewable at that time for anyone who wanted to visit. That concluded the service, technically, but Alice, her aunt, her uncle, and Courage stood beside the iron gates of the cemetery, thanking the guests for coming and to also receive their condolences. Eustace was situated at the front of the line, with Muriel in the middle and Alice at the end. Courage sat at her side, leaning against her in a show of emotional support.

Guests Alice didn't recognize approached and shared their sorrows with the three. They spoke primarily to Muriel and Eustace, but they did express their condolences to Alice and even told her that she could rely on them if she needed anything. Alice remained silent on the matter, mutely accepting their words and shaking their hands.

A family that stepped forward that Alice recognized was the Xyrespace family. Alice didn't know them personally; she did know that both of the parents were doctors at the same hospital her mom had been employed with. Alice had seen them at the Christmas parties the hospital staff would throw, but she didn't talk to them. Both of them were kind, having a real passion for helping people. With them was their daughter, a young kid with pink hair. Alice couldn't remember her name, even though they had seen each other at the parties; the little girl would usually hang around the other little kids or sit around listening to the adults tell stories about their jobs.

Both adults stepped up and shook hands with Muriel and Eustace, expressing their sympathies while the daughter moved around them and zeroed in on Alice. Without even a bit of hesitation, the kid stepped up and wrapped her arms around Alice in a hug. Alice was stunned by the action, taken aback that someone, let alone someone she wasn't even friends with, would do such a thing. She didn't hug the girl back, but she didn't push her off either.

"I'm sorry about your mom," the girl said after she broke from the hug.

Alice stared at the girl blankly, still surprised by the embrace. Alice had heard the sentiment over and over again, and kept silent with all the others, but because this was a kid, Alice felt compelled to reply back.

"Thank you," she murmured.

The girl's mother ushered the child away, and the Lincoln family approached next. Dr. Lincoln was another good friend and former co-worker of her mother's. Alice interacted with him occasionally at the Christmas parties, and she always found him to be friendly, even if it was hard to understand what he was saying most of the time. His wife, Mrs. Lincoln, was also a kind woman who Alice had caught occasionally dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief at the service. Next to the couple was their two children, Cree and Numbuh Five. Alice didn't know Cree too well; she was a high schooler and was usually texting her friends when at the parties. Alice didn't know Numbuh Five either, but she knew of her. The girl was a member of the Kids Next Door, and although Alice never had a desire to join the organization, she'd seen the kids that made up Sector V around the Suburbs, fighting off whatever adult tyranny threatened kid kind.

Dr. Lincoln and his wife were talking to Muriel, expressing their sorrows and talking about a good memory they had of Dr. Spacebyte. Cree bypassed the adults and stood in front of Alice. She didn't shake hands with the girl, and Alice wondered if she was nervous, based on the way she was standing. The older teen wouldn't even look her in the eye.

"Sorry," the older teen said, and then she walked out the gates, away from the cemetery.

Alice should have felt some sort of anger at the way Cree had spoken to her, because she didn't sound very sympathetic for Alice's loss, but Cree's younger sister was taking up her spot before the emotions could register. Numbuh Five sent a quick glare at her sister's back, before smiling empathetically at Alice. The kid shook hands with her.

"Sorry 'bout my sister," she started off with. "She's not good at funerals."

Alice remained silent, not sure what she was supposed to say to that. Numbuh Five probably wasn't looking for a reply, because she was already continuing with the conversation. "'M real sorry about your loss."

She was sincere, and then she reached in and gave Alice a hug. Alice remained motionless, but allowed the girl to hug her. When Numbuh Five pulled away from the embrace, she gave Alice an assuring pat on the arm. She ran off after her sister, a glare set on her face. Alice watched for a moment before her attention was pulled away. Dr. Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln gave Alice their own condolences, and then left with their children.

Dexter and his sister approached the family next, completely throwing Alice by surprise. To her recollection, Alice and he had never had a single conversation, not even in school. Computress, Dexter's scientifically advanced artificial intelligence secretary, stood - or rather, hovered - at the gates of the cemetery, waiting on her creator. Dexter offered his hand to Eustace, but the old farmer refused to take it, even scoffing at the gesture. Muriel was more amiable, and shook hands with the teenage genius.

"Thank you for coming," she told him, just as she told all the other guests.

"On behalf of DexLabs Inc., I'd like to express my deepest and sincerest apologies for the tragedy you and your family have gone through. I would like you to know that I have looked into the incident extensively and am working on changes to provide better safety features for the slider system, so that this does not happen again," Dexter addressed the older woman in a professional manner.

"Lotta good that did," Eustace grumbled, his glare dead set on the redhead.

Dexter turned to look at the grumpy farmer, and Alice half-expected Dexter to get into an argument with her uncle. The boy's bouts with Mandark were legendary, and it was often done over the pettiest of things. However, to her surprise, Dexter remained silent on the matter and allowed Eustace's jab to go unscathed.

"Now there'll be none of that, Eustace," Muriel scolded her husband, taking up Dexter's defense. "The boy already apologized several times over. Don't forget that this whole thing was an accident out of his control."

Her uncle didn't seem to appreciate the talk down. He crossed his arms and grumbled further under his breath, but it was too quiet for anyone to actually hear. Muriel ignored her grumpy husband and proceeded to pull the teenage entrepreneur in for a hug, thanking him for coming and reassuring him that she had no hard feelings regarding him. While DeeDee went and hugged Muriel, Dexter stepped over and held out his hand to Alice.

"I deeply apologize for the tragedy that fell upon you."

Alice stared at the boy blankly. Should she shake hands with him? Accept his apology? Was she mad at him? Should she be? It was his technology that had resulted in her mother's death, after all. That would mean she had every right to be angry, didn't it? If that was indeed the case, why didn't she?

Maybe it was because of what her aunt had said. This was an accident. Dexter didn't pick out her mother to die; it was an accident that the slider malfunctioned. Nothing more, nothing less. So, Alice followed in her aunt's footsteps and shook hands with the teenage genius, and she thought she saw his shoulders deflate a little in relief.

Dexter hadn't even released his grip when his sister shot off like a rocket at Alice, wrapping her into a big hug. The action was becoming a common theme of the day, and so Alice wasn't entirely surprised anymore (though Courage did jump back with a surprised yelp due to the suddenness of the action).

"I'm so sorry this happened to you!" DeeDee said through her tears. "If you want to talk, you can visit me in Genius Grove anytime!" She pulled back and rummaged through her purse. "Here, here, let me give you my address."

It wasn't necessary, since Alice wouldn't take her up on the offer, but she didn't say so. DeeDee seemed so eager, and Alice didn't want to take that from her. So she stood by quietly, watching DeeDee search her purse for a scrap of paper and pen, and then accepted the slip of paper once DeeDee had written her home address down. Underneath it was the young woman's phone number, no doubt to call her if she just wanted to talk.

The siblings left, joining their A.I. on the way out of the cemetery. Dexter was not to be the last surprising guest in attendance. Following up after him were Ed, Edd, and Eddy, known around the neighborhood as the Eds given their similar names. Their attendance was surprising but not incredibly so, considering the three were neighbors of hers, living in the cul-de-sac across from her home.

Double D led the trio, which was very understandable. Eddy was the leader of the trio in normal circumstances, but this wasn't a scam that they were running. This was a formal event, one that was out of Eddy's element. Double D, on the other hand, was skilled in this area. He stepped up to the family, with Ed glued to his side and Eddy standing just a few steps off. All three were dressed in tuxedos, though Double D's sock hat was still firmly on his head.

"I am so sorry for what's happened to you and your family," Double D expressed to the matriarch, shaking hands with her. "Please accept my deepest sympathy."

"Awh, thank you for coming, dears," Muriel expressed to the three boys, shaking hands with Double D. "You three are her neighbors, yeah?"

"Yes," Double D answered. "We came to support Alice."

Alice blinked; they came for her? Well, it did make sense. She was in their grade level, and they were unaccompanied by any adults, so they had to of come for her rather than her mother. The thought still stumped her, though.

Although it was normal for students at school to avoid her, Double D was very kind to her. Whenever they crossed paths with each other in the school's hallways, he'd often greet her and ask how she was doing. Perhaps they could have been friends, but he was usually busy during school with the school paper he was running and after school he was busy helping run one of Eddy's schemes. She and Ed didn't have any classes together, but he was also kind to her.

"How kind of you!" Muriel cried, wrapping Double D in a big hug. "How very kind of you all."

Ed happily received his hug from the woman, commenting on how "Hugs are nice." Eddy looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there, but still, he accepted Muriel's hug with only faint grumbling about the ordeal. Double D and Ed moved over to Alice, expressing their same words of sympathy. Double D shook hands with her, and Ed hugged her, nearly crushing her lungs with his strength. Double D had to pull him off before she could lose the ability to breathe. Eddy stood back, scuffing his shoes on the brick path. Double D elbowed the shorter boy to get his attention and then motioned his head in Alice's direction. Eddy rolled his eyes, but stepped forward so that he was standing in front of her.

"Sorry about your mom dying," Eddy said to her, sounding somewhere between uncomfortable and sympathetic. "That...bites."

Double D released a huff of annoyance, glaring at his friend. Alice stared, not entirely surprised. Her and Eddy, after all, weren't anything close to friendly ever since he had scammed her out of her money when she was a little girl. So, instead of saying anything, she merely nodded at him. Eddy immediately took that as his cue to leave, and he was gone and out the gates like Cree had moments earlier.

"Eddy!" Double D called after him in exasperation. He sent Alice a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about him. We'll see you back in school." He grabbed Ed's elbow and led him out of the cemetery. "C'mon, Ed."

"Are we going to the comic shop now, Double D?" Alice heard Ed ask as the boys left.

Alice's attention followed the Eds for a moment, until she heard a loud groan coming from her right. A boy in a red baseball hat was standing in line, waiting his turn. He had been the source of the groan, and Alice recognized him on sight. Billy was an oddball guest, especially because Alice had no classes with him. This was probably because of the fact that he had a negative IQ score, which she hadn't thought possible until she met him.

"This is so _boring_ ," the boy complained, earning a few dirty looks.

Alice wasn't surprised by his outburst. Billy didn't have a filter in his brain that warned him whenever he was about to say something rude. He usually had Mandy there to correct him, but Alice didn't see the girl in attendance.

"Hey, you know what would lighten this party up? A karaoke machine! Who's go-YEOUCH!"

Billy was rubbing his arm, his face twisted up in pain. Standing beside him was a boy his size and age, and Alice recognized him since the two did share a class together. Nergal Junior was glaring at his cousin in annoyance, and was saying something to him that Alice couldn't hear. When it was their turn to approach the three, Junior was guiding his cousin by the wrist, whispering one more thing to the other boy before he was shaking hands with Eustace. Eustace refused to shake Billy's hand, which didn't bother the boy a single bit. His eyes wandered over until they landed on Alice, to which they brightened in recognition. He skipped past Muriel and came to a stop right in front of her.

"Hiya Alice!" the cap-wearing boy shouted. "I didn't knows you was here. What a small wo-YEOUCH!" Billy rubbed his other arm, glaring at his cousin. "What'd ya do that for, Junior?"

"I told you to _behave_ ," Junior hissed at his cousin, his brows furrowed in a glare.

Billy frowned and huffed loudly, crossing his arms. "I _am_. I just didn't think I'd see Alice here. Why would she be?"

Junior's eyes darkened and he punched Billy in the arm again, resulting in a yelp of a pain from the victim.

"This funeral is for _**her mother**_ , idiot!" his cousin hissed, trying to keep his voice from raising but he was struggling.

"Oh," Billy said lamely. He swiveled around to look at Alice once again. "Your mom got buried? That's gotta suck, right?"

Alice blinked at the question, mildly surprised that this was the second time someone used that phrase or something similar to it. Junior was not content with the response, but he didn't want to make another scene; Eustace was giving the boys a dirty look, as were some of the remaining guests. So, instead, he took in a deep breath and turned his own attention on Alice. Whatever nerve he might have had seemed to disappear. Taking in another deep breath, he reached out his hand.

"I'm sorry about your mom," he said, his voice not sounding as strong as it had been when he spoke to his cousin. "And I'm sorry about my idiot cousin."

Alice shook hands with him and nodded. People seemed to be apologizing on the behalf of others lately.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Junior nodded back in return, and pulled his hand away. With his other hand, he grabbed his cousin by the arm and dragged the boy out of the cemetery, but not before Billy was able to shout out "See ya later, Alice!" Eustace grumbled rather unkind things under his breath until Muriel shushed him.

The final guests to approach the family were equal parts surprising and equal parts expected. Professor Utonium led his two famous daughters, Blossom and Bubbles, forward to shake hands with Eustace and Muriel. Seeing them at the funeral wasn't terribly surprising considering what good friends the Professor and her mother had been. The surprising part was that the family had come at all, considering they had lost a family of their own.

It had been four months since Buttercup had been missing. Although the Utonium family classified her as M.I.A., everyone figured she was dead; four months was an awfully long time to be missing. The community set up a memorial for her by commissioning statues of the girls to be placed in Pokey Oaks park, in front of the gazebo. Buttercup's statue had been (and still was) flooded with flowers and candles and cards from the community. Sometimes, when Alice was passing the park on her way from school, she'd catch the Professor standing in front of Buttercup's statue, staring at it and bringing fresh flowers to lay at its base. She had often wondered what it must feel like to lose your child. She didn't know the answer first hand, but she now wondered if it felt the same as losing your parent.

Her mother had been friends with the Professor ever since Alice had been little; her mother would invite the Powerpuffs to her birthday parties, and the Professor would usually hang around and chat with her mother. The same thing would happen whenever she was invited to the Powerpuffs' birthdays. Alice had mistaken it as love at one point, but her mother corrected her that they were simply friends. When Buttercup had gone missing, and the Professor became a shut-in, her mother would bring meals to the family to help them get by, and sometimes her mother would invite the three of them over for dinner. It didn't fix the situation, but it seemed to help lessen the pain.

It was strange for Alice to think that she had known the Powerpuffs her whole life, but she didn't classify them as her friends. They weren't mean to her (although Buttercup had occasionally said insensitive comments to her when they were younger), but they were so popular that Alice didn't want to compete with the other kids who would vie for their attention. Even at her own birthday party, the kids' attentions would be on the Powerpuffs instead of on her. She never felt any jealousy, though, because the Girls were heroes and it wasn't their fault for being heroes.

The Professor and Muriel shared a hug while Blossom and Bubbles spoke with Eustace.

"Oh, thank you for setting this all up," Muriel spoke kindly to the man. "I don't believe I would have had this all done so well."

The Professor smiled and shook his head. "Please, don't even worry about it. It's the least I could do."

Alice's brows dipped a little in confusion. She had assumed her aunt had been setting up the funeral service, but it was actually the Professor? Why? The Professor and her mother had been good friends, but that was it. Why would he put so much effort for them? She didn't voice these concerns and stood by silently.

"Will Alice still be in Nowhere this weekend?" Professor Utonium inquired.

"Oh no, we're currently residing in my sister's house," Muriel answered. "Alice will be going back to school on Monday, and so we're easing her back in."

The Professor nodded.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to come by and pick her up. Her mother wanted me to tell her about you-know-what," the Professor said, his voice dropping an octave at the 'you-know-what' part.

Alice's confusion only grew. Her mother had made a request of the Professor? And it involved her? Muriel nodded easily, not looking confused at all.

"Of course," Muriel answered. "What time can we expect you?"

"Eight."

Muriel nodded with a smile. "Splendid. I'll have her up and ready by then."

Alice looked even more confused, and wanted to know what they were talking about, but her attention was pulled away by the sudden arrival of Blossom and Bubbles. It was strange seeing the girls out of their iconic red and blue colors and in black dresses for the formal affair. Blossom had a serious look to her, and Bubbles had tears in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to throw herself at Alice, but was holding herself back.

"As leader of the Powerpuff Girls, I want to extend my sincerest apologies for failing to save your mother," Blossom addressed. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything for her. She was a good woman, and her loss will deeply impact us."

Bubbles took this as her cue (or she couldn't hold herself back any longer) and she launched herself at the orphan, wrapping Alice up in a hug. Thankfully, unlike Ed, Bubbles was aware of how strong she was and didn't suffocate the blue haired girl. The girl's tears began to fall like a pipe had burst.

"I'm so sorry, Alice!" she wailed. "We were in Downtown when it happened, and we arrived too late!" Bubbles pulled back from the hug so that she could look Alice in the eye. "Please forgive us."

Alice stared at the pig-tailed Puff in surprise. Looking over at Blossom, the long-haired Puff's serious look had cracked to reveal the guilt she felt over the situation. It hadn't ever crossed Alice's mind that they would feel any sense of guilt over her mother's death. Should it? No. It was an accident. That's what she said to Dexter, wasn't it?

Alice's eyes dropped to her shoes. "It was an accident. It wasn't your fault."

She spared a glance, but found that both girls still looked guilt-ridden, and they actually looked even sadder after her words. She screwed up. Of course they'd feel horrible; they were heroes. No, not heroes. _Super_ heroes. That meant they were supposed to do more than the regular hero. Alice couldn't help but feel pity for the high standard they were putting on themselves. It _wasn't_ their fault; it was no one's fault.

Thinking quickly, Alice muttered out, "I don't blame you."

This response seemed to do the trick. The girls' shoulders relaxed just a bit, and the guilt on their faces lessened. There were still remnants that shone in their eyes, but they seemed to be relieved that Alice didn't put the fault on them. Breaking her somber expression, Blossom sent a small smile at Alice.

"Why don't you come over for dinner this weekend? You'll be in the neighborhood, yeah?" the leader asked.

Alice immediately wanted to say no, a similar reaction to DeeDee's offer of talking it out. She couldn't, however, and not because the girls were eager to do this kind gesture (even though they were; Bubbles' eyes had lit up excitedly at the offer). The reason being was because it was a role-reversal. Only months earlier it had been her mother offering to cook them dinner, and now the Girls were offering the same. It would be rude to deny them such a request.

"How about this Saturday?" the Professor suddenly jumped in, catching his daughter's request. He looked to the elderly couple. "We'd love to have all three of you be our guests."

Alice looked up, suddenly remembering that the Professor had been talking to his aunt about picking her up that Saturday. Her aunt jumped on the idea, clapping her hands together in joy.

"Why that's a marvelous idea!" she remarked. She looked over to her husband. "What do you say, dear?"

"Free food is free food," Eustace remarked, which was his way of agreeing.

"We'll be there. Will six be good?" Muriel asked, once again having a conversation with the Professor.

He nodded. "Perfect timing. We'll have dinner ready."

"And I'll bring a salad," Muriel stated. When the Professor looked ready to protest, the elderly woman held up her hand. "Now there'll be no protest. It'd be rude to come without bringing some sort of dish."

The Professor consented, not wishing to argue with the woman. With the matter settled, the Professor turned back to Alice, his daughters moving to talk with Muriel and Eustace (but mostly Muriel).

"Alice, I am sorry for your loss. If you need someone to talk to, I'm always available," He smiled a bit sadly, looking older than he really was. "I know how you feel."

Alice dropped her gaze for a moment, pity and sympathy running through her. She didn't want to burden him, not while he had his own problems to deal with. But she couldn't just deny his offer; it'd be rude.

"Thank you," she said, meeting his eyes again.

He smiled at her, but a hint of nervousness entered his smile.

"Alice, did you happen to overhear what I was talking about with your aunt?" he asked.

Alice didn't immediately answer his question, because she wasn't sure if she should tell the truth. How much would he tell her if she said she had? How much would he actually tell her if she said she hadn't? Alice looked to Courage for a second opinion, and he nodded, conveying his message: _Tell the truth._

"You mentioned about picking me up Saturday morning," Alice answered. "My mom wanted you to tell me something."

The Professor nodded. "Yes, it's something very important. I've already discussed it with your aunt, but I would like to get your confirmation on this. It does concern you. Will you be alright with me picking you up this Saturday?"

Alice thought about it. Maybe she should be mad they were making these arrangements without her consent, but that wasn't Alice. Her mother and aunt obviously trusted the Professor, so she would, too. She nodded, and he smiled just a bit wider.

Whatever the you-know-what was, she'd find out Saturday.

* * *

The car ride early Saturday morning was silent. Painfully, awkwardly silent.

Professor Utonium had arrived at the Peach Creek Commons home at the time he had promised, eight o' clock. Just as her aunt had promised, Alice was up, dressed, and full from the oatmeal she had been fed. Her aunt wouldn't be joining her to wherever the Professor was driving her to; she was going to the local Malphs store to pick up ingredients for that night's dinner. It was only going to be her and the Professor.

It was quite possibly the most awkward situation Alice had ever been in.

The Professor was a nice man; one _would_ have to be to create the Powerpuff Girls. He was always very kind to her while she was growing up. He'd ask her how she was and how school was doing and if she was participating in any sports or clubs and if she had any hobbies. Alice's shy nature would usually kick in right around the second question, and her mother would step in, picking up a conversation with the man that would distract him from her daughter for the rest of the visit. Given the fact Alice hadn't been in school for a couple weeks and the recent tragedys they had both suffered in the timespan of only a few months, the Professor didn't have many conversation starters to pick from, and Alice was getting the idea that the scientist was nervous, based on the way he was tapping on the steering wheel. So, Alice made herself as small as possible in her seat, and spent the trip staring out the window, watching familiar locations fly by as the car moved from the Suburbs to Downtown. Interestingly, there were no buses on the slider system running.

It was as they were turning left onto Sunny Bridges Street that Alice realized they were headed in the direction of Memorial Hospital. The right-hand turn onto Memorial Drive confirmed Alice's suspicions. A wave of panic crashed over Alice as she saw the back of the hospital come into view. Was that their destination? Why? The Professor knew that her mother used to work there. Why would he do something so cruel? She still wasn't over the death; he of all people should understand!

To Alice's immense relief, the Professor didn't take the winding road up to the hospital that was tucked up against Offworld Plaza's mountain side. To her confusion, he made a left, and drove up to the gate of the Space Port, a launching site for rockets and space shuttles. The Professor rolled down his window and announced to the guard on duty that he had a meeting to see Max Tennyson. Alice didn't know who Max Tennyson was, but the last name sounded eerily familiar. The guard waved them through after handing over two visitor passes to the Professor and telling him where to go. Alice took in the sight as they drove past, staring in wonder at the shuttles lined up. She'd been to the place a few times for school visits, but seeing the shuttles never failed to amaze her.

The Professor parked them near the building in the back, handing over one of the two visitor passes to her. The two entered the building, finding a pristine hallway empty of any other soul. The tiled flooring was so shiny, Alice could actually see her reflection. The Professor led the way, his dress shoes' _click-clack_ ing drowning out Alice's softer tapping in the quiet space. Nervous about what would be coming next, and of who this Max Tennyson was, Alice dropped her gaze to the floor.

The two arrived at the end of the hallway, coming upon a door guarded by two men dressed head to toe in a red jumpsuit, wearing a helmet over their heads. Alice found their getup strange, especially since the guard at the front post hadn't been wearing the same uniform. One guard opened the door for the two of them, giving them a nod as they passed. The Professor nodded back respectfully, but Alice dropped her gaze nervously. They entered the small room, finding it empty save for a circular platform in the middle. After they stepped onto the platform, it descended, surprising Alice. It was moving swiftly, and because there were no safety features on the platform, Alice scooted a little closer to the middle of the platform. The Professor reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, keeping her balanced.

The platform reached its bottom, the metal doors opening sideways like in a sci-fi film. The elevator had dropped the two guests into what Alice could only guess was a control room. A large screen was positioned on the wall directly opposite of them, and situated under it was one long station with several computer screens designed into it. Situated in the middle of the room was a rectangular conference table, lined with eight chairs. There were two metallic doors on opposite sides of the room, leading to who knows where.

Waiting for the two guests at the bottom of the steps were greeted by an older man wearing a red Hawaiian tee shirt. The man had a kind smile on his face, which turned into a toothy grin when he saw them. The Professor led the way down the steps, extending his hand out to the man with a matching grin of his own.

"Thanks for agreeing to this," the Professor said as a greeting.

"It's not a problem," the man answered easily. "It's better now than never, right?"

The Professor nodded, and then he reached out and guided Alice closer, despite her hesitation. The only thing keeping her from running, aside from the fact that the elevator doors were shut, was the hand the Professor kept on her shoulder.

"Hello, Alice," the stranger greeted her kindly.

Alice dutifully shook the elder man's hand, murmuring out a meek, "Hello." She felt embarrassed to be meeting a leader of an organization wearing a simple blue shirt and capris, but she figured he didn't care considering his taste in clothing. Plus, he was smiling at her kindly, so that helped to ease her worries.

"Alice, this is Max Tennyson," the Professor introduced for her. "He's the leader of a secret organization known as the Plumbers."

"Why is it a secret?" Alice asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Both men shared a brief glance, which confused Alice more. Were they unsure of telling her? If so, why did the Professor bother to bring her all this way?

"Because we deal with aliens," Max finally answered.

The surprise hit Alice pretty hard, since it was so out of left field. However, on some level it made sense. This was the Space Port, where shuttles and rockets went up into space. Aliens came from space, so of course an organization that dealt with aliens would be operating there. But then Alice began to wonder why _she_ was there. Why had the Professor brought her to meet the leader of the Plumbers? They dealt with aliens. So, if he had brought her there, to the Space Port, to the leader of the Plumbers, to a man who dealt with aliens, then that had to mean...

"Why am I here?" Alice asked meekly, hoping that her line of thought was wrong.

Again, the men shared a look. Perhaps they heard the fear in Alice's tone and were trying to figure out what to say. The worried looks they shared with each other certainly seemed to indicate this was so.

"Because you're an alien, Alice," the Professor told her as kindly as possible, to lessen the blow, but it was no good.

For a brief second, the lights in the underground facility flickered. Alice's world narrowed as she repeated the revelation in her head. She must have gone pale in the face, because the two adults were suddenly hovering over her with alarmed looks on their faces. If it wasn't for the Professor holding her up, she would have certainly fallen to the ground, perhaps even fainted. She actually felt like throwing up.

_An alien?_ she thought.

"Let's go and have a seat before we continue our conversation," Max suggested.

The Professor helped Alice walk to the conference table, helping her into her seat before he took one next to her. Max sat on Alice's other side, leaning back in his chair. He was trying to look relaxed, but his eyes were alert and watching. The Professor took in a deep breath, collecting himself.

"Thirteen summers ago," the scientist began, "I was studying the stars. I'm not an astronomy buff, but I wanted to give it a try. It just so happened that I spotted what I thought was a falling star that night. I was following its descent when I realized it was heading for the ground. I jumped into my car and followed it, eventually coming to Peach Creek Estates where it had landed. When I approached the impact site, I was expecting to find a rock. To my surprise, it was a baby girl with a full head of blue hair. That baby as you." He paused in his story, gauging Alice and her reaction. She wasn't going to faint, but the surprise was evident in her eyes. Seeing that it was safe, he continued. "I was in a panic. I've never had a kid before, and I wasn't entirely sure what I was supposed to do. I finally calmed down enough to think things through, and decided to bring you to the hospital; if anyone would know what to do with a baby, it would be them. When I arrived and asked for a doctor, your mother approached and asked how she could help. She had already seen your blue hair, surprising her like it did me. I didn't tell her anything, at first. All I told her was that I found you on your own and wanted to have you checked on. She disappeared with you for almost an hour, probably running every sort of test on you that they could do on a baby. She left me in the waiting room."

"At this point," Max broke in, startling Alice because she had momentarily forgotten his presence, "I arrived. Our satellites had picked up on your arrival, but by the time I arrived at your landing spot, the Professor was getting into his car with you. I followed him, but at a safer distance. I wasn't sure of what he was going to do, so I tailed him to ensure your safety. I entered the hospital when the doctor, your mother, took you to test your health. It was at this point that I approached the Professor. I asked him what he knew and what he was intending to do."

"Given the strange turn of events that night, I was a little surprise to be addressed like that," the Professor picked up his side of the story again. "But I answered honestly. I didn't know much, except that you had come from off planet, making you an alien. I wasn't intending anything."

"I believed him," Max contributed. "Even though I was a Plumber, and should have taken you into my custody, I believed the Professor. Something in my gut told me he could be trusted, so I left you in his care."

"After meeting Max, and getting a number from him in case I needed his assistance in the future, I waited for your mother to return with you. And when she did, she wanted answers."

"You told her?" Alice asked, speaking for the first time since her heritage had been revealed to her.

"She sorta forced it out of me," the Professor answered sheepishly. "She's a hard woman to lie to, so I told her everything. She didn't laugh or think me crazy. She asked if I intended to raise you. I answered no." He flashed her a guilty smile, worried that he may have hurt her feelings by admitting that he had passed on raising her. "You see, I wasn't ready at the time to take on the responsibility of being a father. I thought for sure your mother was going to berate me for it, but she surprised me. She declared she was going to raise you."

"Even though I was an... an alien?" Alice asked.

The Professor smiled gently at the girl. "She didn't care. Human or alien, all she saw was a baby who needed someone to raise her."

"Why didn't she tell me?" Alice questioned, feeling betrayed. Her mother had told her she'd tell her no lies, so why hadn't she told her the truth of her past?

"She didn't want to make you feel like an outsider," the Professor answered. The Professor glanced away, a painful look settling on his face. "It can be hard on a child when they feel like they don't fit in."

Alice dropped her gaze to her lap, feeling terrible for bringing up a painful memory. It hadn't been her intention. Her mother's own intentions were good, but it did little to help Alice because she had felt like an outsider since she was little. Why not tell her the truth sooner?

Wait, why was the Professor telling her now?

"Why are you telling me this?" Alice asked, not looking up from her lap.

"It was a request from your mother," the Professor answered. "She had meant to tell you when you turned thirteen, but she made me promise to tell you the truth in the case something happened to her."

"Where do I come from, then?" Alice asked, looking up.

"That's why you were brought here," Max answered in the Professor's place. "Because I left you in the Professor and your mother's care, I didn't get a chance to test your blood and analyze it. With your permission, I'd like to do that now."

"It's up to you, though," the Professor added.

Alice looked at Max, then the Professor, and then her lap. She wasn't sure she actually wanted to know where she came from, but what harm was there? She might as well get some more answers.

"Okay," she answered.

Max smiled and stood to his feet, disappearing for a moment before returning with a cylinder-shaped item in hand. Alice froze at the sight of it. Growing up with a doctor for a mother, Alice didn't have the normal fear of needles like other kids did. When Max had talked about retrieving blood, she had assumed he'd return with a needle. The cylinder-shaped device wasn't at all what she had been expecting, and that momentarily had her panicked. Max saw the look on her face and smiled in that grandfatherly way to set her nerves at ease.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt you," he assured her as he approached. "It'll be like pricking your finger on a pin. I only need a little bit."

Alice nodded, feeling ashamed for freezing up at the device; it was just a super-advanced needle. She held up her arm expectantly, and he pressed the cylinder to her skin. True to his word, the pain was as minimal as her finger getting pricked, and it only lasted for a few seconds. He pulled back his object, just as the elevator opened and revealed a famous teenage boy.

"Hey Gramps," Ben Tennyson addressed his grandfather. "Sorry for being late."

Max shook his head at his grandson. "On the contrary, you're on time." He jerked his head in Alice's direction. "Would you mind keeping Alice company while I go over this? It'll be a while, and I don't think she wants to be bored by our conversation."

"Not a problem," he called back to his grandfather, coming to a stop next to Alice's seat and extending his hand out to her. "Hey there, you're Alice? I'm Ben. You've probably heard of me?"

Who hasn't? Ben Tennyson was a celebrity like the Powerpuff Girls and Imaginary Man. He was the boy who could turn into aliens. His identity had been outted months ago on _Harangue Nation_ , ran by its host and namesake, William Harangue. Since then, his heroic deeds had made him a media darling (aside from _Harangue Nation_ ), and a teenage heartthrob for teenage girls. Practically every girl at her junior high had a picture of him in their locker, fantasizing about the day they would be called "Mrs. Tennyson."

Alice nodded at Ben's question, but kept her hands to herself. Ben pulled back his hand and used it to rub the back of his neck, his smile not diminishing in the slightest. The Professor pulled the teenager to the side, holding a discussion in hushed tones. Max was at the station underneath the large screen, placing the cylinder into a panel on the console. He took a seat in the swivel chair, beginning to analyze the blood sample.

Left alone, Alice allowed herself to think about everything that had been revealed to her. She believed everything she learned was the truth; the Professor was too kind a man to be playing a cruel trick on her. The reveal made some sense, when Alice really thought about it. Her sense of loneliness, her hair color. But all of this meant one important thing: her life was a lie. Her mother and her aunt and her uncle and her cousin weren't actually her family; not her blood family, anyway. They had been lying to her for almost thirteen years, and that thought brought on a feeling of betrayal that had her tearing up, but she wouldn't let them fall. She didn't want to cry in front of strangers.

"So, how're you holding up?"

Ben's question brought Alice out of her thoughts. He had taken the Professor's seat next to her, looking at her with concern. A quick sweep of the room found that the Professor was at Max's side, glancing over his shoulder so he could see the work being done.

Ben watched Alice carefully. When his grandpa had asked him to come to Plumbers HQ to meet a new alien, he had been excited. With the negative press Harangue was pressing upon the public about aliens (him in particular), Ben wanted to reassure new aliens that they had nothing to be afraid of. Of course, that's when his grandpa had explained a little bit about the girl. Losing a family member and then learning that you were actually an alien the whole time would be a giant burden on anyone's shoulders. He was being brought in as a fellow youth to help her navigate the strange waters.

Alice blinked away her tears and dropped her gaze to her lap. She didn't want to admit to Ben how she was holding up; he'd judge her poorly, because she wasn't holding up well.

"It's okay to be scared," Ben said, taking her silence as an answer. Her head snapped up, looking at him in bewilderment. He frowned at her in sympathy. "I heard about what happened to your mom, and I'm sorry that happened to you. It's probably not easy going from losing a family member to learning that you're actually an alien."

Alice nodded her head slowly.

"I can't necessarily say I can relate, because I'm still human, but I do have this nifty watch that lets me become whatever alien is in it," Ben continued, holding up his Omnitrix to show off to the girl. "Though, my family has a history with aliens. My grandma's an alien, and her DNA passed on to my cousin." He grinned when he saw Alice's eyes widen. "Hey, do you have a phone on you? I could give you her number so you could talk to her about your concerns. She can relate to you better than I can. I was brought in because I was available."

Alice's shoulders drooped a little, like she was disappointed in what he said. Reaching out, Ben clasped his hand on her shoulder, giving her a wide smile that had her looking at him in surprise.

"Hey, just because I can't relate as well doesn't mean I'm not going to help out," Ben told her. He gave her a thumbs up. "What kind of hero would I be?"

"The results are in," Max declared, interrupting the youths. He looked over at the young pair from over his shoulder.

"Are you ready, Alice?" the Professor asked softly.

Alice slowly nodded. He motioned with his hand for her to come closer, and she obeyed with Ben following at her side, his hands resting on the back of his neck. He was remarkably more relaxed than she was, but then again, he wasn't the one about to learn his heritage. Alice stopped behind Max's chair, staring up at the screen that was showing off the results.

ARTHENADITE - 100% MATCH.

Alice, Ben, and the Professor were stumped on the meaning behind the name, but Max's eyes widened and a gasp escaped him.

"It can't be," he muttered.

"Arthenadite? Never heard of it," Ben said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, you wouldn't," Max replied, shaking off his shock. "Their planet, Arthenia, was wiped out completely almost thir..." Max paused, swiveling in his chair to look at Alice with dawning recognition. Alice edged closer behind the Professor. "Thirteen years ago."

"Wiped out? You mean they're gone?" the Professor asked, surprise coloring his face.

"Them and their planet," the Plumber replied with a nod of confirmation.

"Except Alice," Ben noted, looking at the girl. She didn't meet his gaze.

"As far as we know, she's the only Arthenadite alive," Max theorized. "Based on her arrival, I'd estimate that she was sent here before the planet disappeared."

"Do you know what caused the planet to disappear?" the Professor asked, his curious, scientific mind on overdrive. "A black hole? A supernova?"

Max shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. The planets within the Olyquis galaxy were wiped out, but from what is still a mystery. There's several theories, but none proven right."

"Could you tell us a little more about the people?" the Professor asked.

"They were isolationists, so there aren't any records coming from the people themselves," Max began the history lesson, crossing his arms as he recalled what little he knew of the peoples' history. "What we know about them comes from other species that attempted to overpower their planet. None were ever able to conquer them."

"Any special abilities?" Ben asked, also curious. He hadn't come across an Arthenadite in his Omnitrix, and he wondered if Azmuth would even bother to add one.

"There's nothing concrete, but digging through the records from these would-be conquerors point to a few powers," Max explained. "Some psychokinesis, some telekinesis, some energy manipulation, and more. It's unknown how common one or all of these powers are, but based on the records, they are incredibly powerful."

"So, Alice could have one or all of these powers?" Ben asked, his eyes widening.

Max nodded in affirmation. "It's very possible."

"Have you experienced any abilities, Alice?" the Professor asked, addressing the girl who had been content to stand in the background.

Alice's first response was to decline, but something stopped her. A small memory not too long ago. After Officer Valerosa had given her news on her mother, and the officer and Principal Goodvibes had left the room to give her privacy, the lights had flickered. It was brief, and Alice hadn't thought about it at the moment, too overwhelmed with the loss of her mother, but was that an indicator? Had she unknowingly used her powers in that moment? Alice wasn't confident it was a good example, so she kept it to herself and shook her head.

"No," she answered.

Ben looked a little disappointed in the answer, but he shrugged it off and looked to his grandfather for an answer. The Professor also looked to the aged Plumber for answers.

"It's possible that she hasn't unlocked them yet," Max explained, hearing the unspoken question from both Ben and the Professor. "Or it's possible she doesn't have them. Without testing them out, we don't know for sure."

The Professor turned to Alice, about to open his mouth and ask a question, but stopped when he saw how pale Alice was. Although he _really_ wanted to see what sort of power she may have (and knew from personal experience about how bad it would be to let a young girl run loose without proper control of her new powers), he wasn't going to push her into anything she wasn't ready for. Besides, there would be time later to experiment such things.

"Thank you for everything, Max, but we'll have to bow out for now," he answered on Alice's behalf, reaching out and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I think Alice has had more than enough excitement for the day. Besides, I need to help the girls with dinner tonight."

Max nodded easily, understanding perfectly. Ben frowned momentarily at the answer, but seeing the look on Alice's face, he changed it to an easy-going grin.

"Guess we'll have to see what you got later," the celebrity teen said teasingly.

Alice didn't hear him. She was too focused on what the Professor said. In all the excitement of learning she was an alien, she had forgotten about dinner with the Utoniums. She hadn't been excited to go to the dinner when it was proposed and now, with this bombshell, she was absolutely dreading the visit.

* * *

Alice stepped into her home quietly, carefully closing the door behind her. It was nearing lunch time, so Muriel was most likely back from the store by now, and Eustace would be in front of the television watching the local news channel so he could complain about the stories. She didn't want to be noticed by the adults yet, though Courage had heard her despite her efforts. The trusty pink dog walked up to her, sensing something off with her. She gave him a quick pet, and then made her way for the stairs. She was moving as quietly as possible, but it wasn't quiet enough. Muriel heard Alice's footsteps as the girl passed by the kitchen.

"Alice, dear, is that you?" the woman called to Alice, stopping the girl in her tracks. "Are ya home so soon?"

Alice closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and entered the kitchen. She didn't want to confront her aunt so soon, but she might as well get it all out. No time like the present, right?

"Yes," Alice answered simply.

Muriel paused from making the salad to look at her niece. Something in Alice's tone tipped the woman off that her niece was not doing well. A look in her direction confirmed Muriel's suspicion. The girl was pale as bone, and her shoulders were slouched forward. Muriel frowned in sympathy, having an idea of why her niece was looking so glum.

"Alice, dear, are you alright?" she asked, approaching the girl.

Alice shook her head slowly, worrying the elderly woman.

"What's the matter?"

"How..." Alice cleared her throat and tried again. "How long have you known?"

Muriel stared at the girl, but she didn't need further clarification on what Alice was asking about. She knew where Alice had gone to that morning. She knew what Alice had learned. She knew what Alice was asking.

"Your uncle and I have known since my sister brought you to our home," Muriel answered, a soft smile on her face. "She was so excited to show you off to us. Of course, the color of your hair raised a question on where you came from, not to mention that my sister hadn't had a date since her high school days. Your mother told us everything."

"Didn't you think it was strange?" Alice asked. "That I was an alien?"

"Yes, that was surprising for the first few seconds. But you were such an adorable little thing, that it didn't matter. Human or alien, you were our niece." Muriel smiled. "You were the cutest baby I'd ever seen."

Alice's eyes watered up at her aunt's declaration, and she averted her eyes.

"W-why did mom keep it a secret from me?" she asked. "Why did no one tell me?"

Muriel's smile dropped. "Your mother wanted you to be part of this family, and she was worried you wouldn't feel like you were if you knew the truth," Muriel answered, and Alice flinched by how true that statement was. "She wasn't going to tell you, but after that young boy was revealed to be all those aliens runnin' around, she eventually decided you deserved to know the truth. She talked it over with myself and with Professor Utonium. She wanted to tell you on your thirteenth birthday."

Alice's tears were beginning to fall slowly, but Alice was doing her best to hold them back. Courage, who had been at her side the whole time, whimpered out of sympathy for the girl. Muriel approached her niece and pulled her into a bear hug.

"This is all so new to you, but understand this. Your mother loved you with her heart and soul. You were her pride and joy, and she wouldn't have traded you for _anything_ in this world or others."

"B-but she's gone," Alice choked out. "I'm all alone."

Her aunt tightened her embrace, rubbing her niece's back to comfort her. Courage joined in on the hug, holding tightly onto Alice's leg, conveying his love and support for her.

"You're not alone, dear," Muriel assured the distressed child. "You have so many people who love you and will support you. Remember that no matter what happens, you will always be loved, forever and ever."

Alice's restraints broke. No longer holding back her tears, Alice buried her face in her aunt's shoulder and sobbed, releasing everything she had been feeling since the news of her mother's death. Her aunt tightened her hold on her niece, petting her niece's hair to calm the upset teenager. After her tears dried and her sobs subsided, the girl pulled herself away from the embrace, rubbing at the stains on her cheeks.

"Feel better?" Muriel asked, receiving a nod from the teenager. "Talk to me whenever ya feel down, alright dear? I'll be here for you."

Alice smiled faintly and nodded. "Of course, Aunt Muriel."

Muriel grinned back. "I'm almost finished with the salad. Once I'm done, why don't I help ya find an outfit for tonight?"

"Okay," Alice agreed. "I'm going to go wash my face."

"I'll be up in a moment," the elderly woman told her, turning back to the salad bowl.

Alice scooped up Courage into her arms and walked up the stairs. It hadn't been planned, but her conversation with her aunt helped her feel better. She was still hurt over losing her mother, and learning she was an alien explained her feeling of separation from her peers. But for the moment, she didn't focus on any of that. The future was still scary, but knowing she had her family backing her up made it seem just a little bit less scary.


	2. Everything Changes

Numbuh 789's occupation on the Moonbase used to be a simple, easy job. For eight hours during the third shift, he'd watch over the Kids Next Door satellites that floated around in space, keeping a close eye on the many adult satellites that ventured the Milky Way Galaxy. His companion, Numbuh 987, considered it a babysitting job, but Numbuh 789 didn't mind. He could read his _Yipper_ comics and catch up on the latest _Hokeymon_ episodes.

However, over the last three days, seven of their satellites weren't responding, throwing Numbuh 789's peaceful time into absolute chaos. Soopreme Leaduh Numbuh 362 was demanding to know what happened to their satellites, and Numbuh 789 had no answers to give her. He couldn't retrieve any data off of the fallen satellites, and it wasn't like he could have another satellite go and check the area. They had sent off a team to investigate, but there was no response from the team. The Soopreme Leaduh was not willing to send another manned team after that.

Numbuh 789 did notice that there was a pattern to their satellite losses, making him believe that this was a deliberate act and not an accident. Whatever was destroying their satellites was on its way to the Moonbase, and Numbuh 362 wanted it stopped before it reached them.

So, with a Rainbow Monkey mug filled to the brim with freshly made hot chocolate, Numbuh 789 sat and stared at the display screen up on the wall, looking for any sign of the destroyer. Just as he was taking a sip, the proximity alert sounded off, drowning the room in a red light.

"No, no, no," the operative whispered desperately, pulling up the security feed from the exterior cameras, searching for their intruder.

Based on previous experiences, he was expecting to see Stickybeard's _Sweet Revenge_ , or maybe even something from Father, but that wasn't the case. Something flew by the Moonbase quickly, but it didn't hit the Kids Next Door central headquarters, which had Numbuh 789 sighing in relief. The object was heading for Earth, and considering there was nothing he could do on the matter, Numbuh 789 turned off the alarm. The superheroes down on Earth would handle the object.

"Just a false alarm," he sighed to himself, pulling out a _Spore_ comic book from his stash under the desk.

With the alarm turned off and his attention put on his comic, Numbuh 789 completely missed the shadow of a ginormous green planet encroaching upon the moon.

* * *

"Sir?" Plumber Jim called for his boss. He continued when Max Tennyson arrived at the plumber's station, "We just received a scrambled message from the Galactic Enforcers."

"Where are they sending it from?" Max asked, leaning over the plumber's shoulder to get a better look at the console.

"X'Nelli. It arrived moments ago," Jim answered.

Max put his hand to his chin, frowning at the information. The Galactic Enforcers and the Plumbers were allies, and while they didn't have constant contact with each other, sending a scrambled message sent a red flag in Max's head. Something important was being sent, and the Enforcers didn't want anyone else to get their hands on it.

"Notify me when it's done," Max said to his subordinate.

Jim saluted his boss and immediately turned his attention to his station, getting to work unscrambling the message. Max walked away from the control room and entered his private office, taking a seat in his chair. Laying on his desk was his tablet, which he picked up and checked. There was a message waiting for him, having arrived just seconds before. He almost thought it was the same message from the Galactic Enforcers, but it was from the Galactic Guardians instead.

The Galactic Guardians and the Plumbers had a long history of being allies, though Max had some personal reservations about the Galactic Council. Admiral DeGill had reached out to Max a week ago, asking for assistance in searching for one of their lost crews manned by Atomic Betty, a figure whose popularity in the universe rivaled his own. Their personnel were searching the galaxy and was asking Max to have his people search around on Earth for either Betty or her spaceship. Max had instantly agreed and sent out a small team to look for the team, but they hadn't yet found them.

Max opened the message, frowning at what he read:

**BE ON ALERT. SOMETHING IS COMING YOUR WAY.**

Max re-read the message again, his frown growing more concerned at the implications. The last time they had talked, only one of Admiral DeGill's team was missing. Now, it was twenty-five percent of his fleet. And something was coming to the Earth? None of their satellites had picked up anything entering the Milky Way that wasn't common to this part of the universe.

Almost as if it was reading his mind, his tablet beeped. Instead of a new message, he was watching a live feed from one of their satellites. A purple mech was hurtling toward Townsville. Below, he could make out two colored light streams shooting up at the falling mech. He put his tablet back on the desk, assured that the matter was being handled.

"MAGISTER TENNYSON! MAGISTER TENNYSON!"

Max jumped to his feet, alarmed by the sudden cry of his subordinate. Plumber Carol burst into his office, keeping one hand on the door's frame to stop herself from flying forward. The plumber's face was white as snow and her eyes wide as saucer plates. She was breathing heavily, like she had run a marathon in a short amount of time.

"What's the matter?" he asked her. "Is this about the mech?"

"N-no, sir," she answered, shaking her head. "It's a planet!"

* * *

The giant mech that had sped past the Moonbase entered the Earth's atmosphere. Its entry had done little to slow the mech's descent, and it only seemed to speed up as gravity took control and pushed the mech further towards the ground. The citizens of Townsville screamed when they saw the mech coming right for the Downtown area, but they didn't really have to worry. Moving at the speed of light, the two Powerpuff Girls intercepted the falling mech, slowing its descent. They lowered it to Townsville Park, the only area in the Downtown district that was empty enough for a giant mech. They recognized it as one of Mojo Jojo's.

The mech did not look to be in good shape. The right leg was missing at the knee, and the left arm was dislodged at the shoulder, hanging limply at the side. The body unit had puncture wounds scattered haphazardly, and the girls could see that while the helmet was still in one piece, there was an obvious, hasty patchwork at the top of the dome. Hitting the outside button, the dome's hatch popped open and revealed the user of the mech.

Mojo Jojo was still in his seat, harnessed in. He was barely conscious, with one eye swollen shut. His helmet that hid his giant brain was cracked and had holes scattered about. His body had some cuts and bruises, but he still had all limbs attached.

With a frown etched on her face, Blossom reached in and pulled Mojo out of the mech, ripping him out of his harness in the process. The advanced simian grunted from the action, blearily staring up at the Puff leader with his good eye.

"What did you do, Mojo?" Blossom demanded, her eyes narrowing in accusation.

Mojo didn't answer her. His head lolled backward to look over her shoulder, his dull eye making contact with something far away. Bubbles leaned forward so she could be in Mojo's line of sight. Unlike Blossom, her face was filled with worry for the villain.

"Mojo, what happened to you?" Bubbles asked, more compassionate.

Mojo coughed and, using whatever energy he had in him, raised his arm upward and pointed at something over them. The two Puffs looked over their shoulders as one, staring wide-eyed up in the sky. Up, up in the sky was a giant green planet. With their supervision, they could see several somethings exiting the planet, entering the Earth's atmosphere with a loud sonic boom.

* * *

"Will you be coming in for lunch support today, Alice?" Mr. Green asked the girl as she passed by his desk on her way to the door.

The girl stopped steps away from his desk and nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, sir," she answered him.

The substitute teacher smiled and went back to looking over his paperwork. "See you at lunch."

It would be Alice's third time spending her lunch in Mr. Green's classroom for lunch support. Mr. Green and her P.E. teacher had excused her from the work she was missing while she was away in Nowhere, but the rest of her teachers still asked for all those missing assignments, putting Alice far behind in her classes. Mr. Green, on the Monday she had returned, told his class he was offering lunch support to catch up on work from his or other teacher's classes, an offer that a few kids took him up on. Alice was one of those students (because it wasn't like she had any plans at lunch), and, with Mr. Green's help, was able to complete a third of her work.

As Alice made her way to her locker, she tried desperately to not pay attention to her fellow students staring at her from a distance. Without needing to look at them, she could sense their eyes on her. Things hadn't been the same since she'd returned to school two days prior. Before leaving, students didn't know she existed. Now, after returning from a long hiatus, all eyes were on her. She was the gossip of the school, and she absolutely hated it.

She swung her backpack onto her back once she was finished switching out her supplies, and was in the process of closing the locker door when she paused, the hair on the back of her neck standing at attention. Something in the pit of her stomach felt wrong, like something bad was about to happen. She glanced up and down the hallway, but found nothing out of place. Nobody seemed to have noticed either, which sent chills down Alice's spine. What was the cause of this feeling? Why did she seem to be the only one affected?

A sonic boom above their school startled Alice. Everyone else around her didn't even flinch, probably assuming it was the Powerpuffs or even the Rowdyruffs flying by, maybe even a military jet. But none of that made sense. The Powerpuffs would never fly over the school so fast, the Rowdyruffs avoided school like the plague, and the nearest military base was situated in the Nowhere desert, far, _far_ away from the school.

In the pit of Alice's stomach, she knew something was coming.

Suddenly, something green slammed down through the roof at incredible speeds, imbedding itself into the floor. This caused the students to scream in terror and run for the exits. Students were getting pushed and trampled. A few, like Alice, were frozen, startled by what they were experiencing.

The green thing was bulbous shaped, almost looking like a plant based on its roots that were imbedding themselves into the floor tile. It was a strange sight, yet Alice found herself walking the nearly empty hallway to the plant without even thinking about it. Despite her wariness over the thing, she couldn't stop herself. Something deep down inside her was calling her to it. As she got closer to it, she realized that the mysterious plant was the same height as her. She also noticed that it was moving in and out, almost like it was breathing. Slowly, cautiously, Alice reached out a hand to touch it, but immediately recoiled when the plant began to ooze out a green, gooey substance. The gooey substance took on a spherical form, with a fin at the top of its body and red eyes. Before she had the common sense to run away, the gooey substance sprang out from the plant, aimed directly for her.

Alice raised her arm up and the gooey substance opened its mouth, revealing jagged looking teeth that bit into her arm. Alice released a shriek, and that section of the hallway went into darkness very briefly. Reflexively, Alice flung her arm to the side, and the creature flew off her arm, hitting the wall with a watery splat. It fell to the ground and bounced back, shaking off the hit it took. Alice brought her injured left arm to her body, noticing the blood flowing out of the puncture wounds, but her attention was pulled to the plant. It was oozing out several more of the same creatures.

Alice did a quick scan of her surroundings and found that she was the only student left in the hallway with the creatures. The others were gone, seeking exits, which is what Alice was supposed to do. Rising to her feet, Alice ran down the emptied hallway and took a right turn into a hallway that was scattered with students also trying to get away from the monsters. It was empty of any of the monsters, until a monster smashed in from the roof, blocking their exit way and raining debris on the students. This monster was different from the green ball shaped monsters of the other hallway. It was far larger than them, having the top of its head touching the roof above it. Unlike the green body the smaller monsters had, this one was almost nearly made out of telephone poles, giving it a metallic look.

Many of the students turned and ran in the opposite direction upon seeing this much larger, much scarier monster, pushing each other out of the way, but Alice was frozen in place. Alice had been the only one who spotted that a fellow student of hers - Suzy from her sixth period math class - was in immediate danger. When the monster had smashed in from the roof, it had caught Suzy underneath it, trapping her and making it hard to escape. The monster had its arm raised high into the air, preparing to smash Suzy, who threw up her arms to defend herself as a reflex. Alice's eyes widened in fright as the monster's arm swung down. Overhead, the florescent lights buzzed angrily, briefly brightening that part of the hallway.

Alice released a high-pitch scream and threw out a hand at the monster just as the lights shattered, throwing the hallway into darkness.

She didn't know what she could accomplish by just screaming at it, but something very strange happened. Lockers flung themselves off the wall and flew at the monster, striking it in the head before clattering to the ground. Because of the momentum, the monster was pushed to the side, hitting the wall and briefly falling through it. Both Suzy and Alice stared in surprise. Alice shifted her surprised gaze from the monster to her hand. She would have been freaked out by what happened if Max Tennyson's words didn't ring through her head.

_"Some psychokinesis, some telekinesis, some energy manipulation, and more."_

"Alice!"

Alice snapped out of her thoughts just in time to witness the monster rush at her with its arms raised up in an attempt to grab her. Before the monster could clear the distance between them, something small wrapped itself around her waist and tugged her backward, pulling her away from danger. Not a second too soon, either, because the monster smashed the spot where Alice had been. Nergal Jr stepped in front of her and pulled down his glasses. The monster froze in place and didn't move, behaving like a garden statue. Junior returned the glasses to their place on his face, his tentacle retreating back into his body. Alice stared at him in surprise, wondering where he had come from.

"Are you okay?" he asked out of concern.

"Yes," Alice answered. Her eyes widened when she remembered they weren't the only two in the hall, and looked in Suzy's direction. "Su-"

"Don't worry about me, I'm doing alright," Suzy interrupted Alice, stopping next to the girl and smiling brightly. "Just a few bruises. It would have been a lot worse if you two hadn't come to help me. Thanks for that, by the way."

"We're not in the clear yet," Junior responded to her, eyeing the large hole in the ceiling in which several monsters were beginning to circle around the opening. "We need to leave."

"What about the others?" Suzy asked.

"Can't help them right now," Junior answered, pointing at the ceiling hole. "Those things are multiplying fast, and I can't keep freezing them forever. We gotta leave and let professionals deal with it."

Suzy frowned at the idea, but she saw the logic behind it and nodded.

"Right, okay. The Powerpuff Girls will be here any minute to deal with this," Suzy agreed reluctantly. "Let's go."

Junior took the lead with Suzy following behind. Alice didn't follow after the two immediately. She looked back at the frozen monster. Although it was dark, she thought she saw something green starting to form where the monster touched the floor. What it could be puzzled the girl, but she didn't get to ponder the mystery for very long.

"Alice!" Suzy's voice called out to her. "We need to go!"

Alice turned at the call, spared the weird green spot beginning to form a quick glance, and then jogged to where Suzy and Junior had stopped to wait for her. As she was moving past a set of lockers, a ball shaped monster launched itself from the wall, latching itself to the girl's backpack with its sharp mouth. As Alice was in the process of dropping her backpack off of her, the monster leveraged itself upward, landing on her shoulder and baring its sharp mouth at her. Alice could feel the spot where it was sitting begin to burn. She swatted the monster off of her before it could take a bite out of her, feeling the back of her hand burn from contact.

The monster fell backward and bounced back, prepared for another launch at its prey. It was stopped midair by a gloved hand grabbing it by its fin and throwing it in the opposite direction. Mr. Green shook his gloved hand, like he was ridding it of the monster's gooey structure. He watched the creature hit the ground with a splat on the other side of the school.

"Mr. Green?" Alice asked, confused on why he would still be in the school.

The substitute teacher whirled around and grabbed his student's arm, hauling her to her feet.

"We need to leave, _now_ ," the adult stressed, his only eye momentarily noticing the blood stains on her sleeve. He frowned, and pulled the still confused girl over to where Suzy and Junior were still standing.

"We need to leave," Mr. Green repeated his warning to the students. "The school has been overtaken by these creatures and they're beginning to effect the school's structure. If we remain here any longer, we'll be caught in the collapse." His good eye surveyed their area, noticing that a few of the creatures were frozen on the spot. "Did you freeze these, Junior?"

"Yeah," Junior replied. "They'll recover eventually, but we'll be long gone by then. I can't use it constantly, though."

Mr. Green nodded. "Take the lead and freeze as many as you can. I'll take the back and make sure they don't ambush us. Head for the front doors."

Junior did as he was instructed, and started to jog for the front of the school. Suzy and Alice followed him immediately, with their teacher following behind them.

"Hey Alice, think you could move some lockers again?" Suzy asked, looking over her shoulder to talk to the girl.

Alice dropped her gaze to the floor.

"I...I don't think so," Alice admitted. "I don't know how I did it."

Suzy frowned, but shrugged. "Well, that's okay. We'll leave this to the boys."

The four only encountered a handful of monsters on their trek to the school's front doors. Junior froze any that tried to attack head on, and Mr. Green would occasionally toss aside a monster or two that tried for a sneak attack. None in their group was injured by the time they made it to the school's entrance.

The front doors were hanging by their hinges, one door swung inward and the other outward. The green substance Alice had noticed forming under the large monster was snaking its way up the doors. It was light, but it was there. Junior exited first, pushing the inward swung door forward so that it was now like its twin. Lined up along the school's sidewalk were police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. Further down the street, Alice could see that parents were being reunited with their children, while others were waiting. Once they were safely past the archway, Mr. Green herded the three teenagers to a group of paramedics huddled together, having a serious conversation about something that Alice couldn't really hear.

"Excuse me," Mr. Green interrupted their discussion, getting their attention. He ignored the way the human paramedics jumped back once they realized they were speaking to a demon. He gestured with his hand to the kids. "These children need to be looked over."

One paramedic zeroed in on Alice, a look of recognition in his eyes.

"You're..." he trailed off and shook his head. His eyes moved downward to her sleeve, where he could see the dried blood stains. "Jason, Kimberly, check over these two." He used his hand to motion at Junior and Suzy. "Alice, follow me."

Alice shrunk at the mention of her name, but Mr. Green put his arm on her shoulder, smiling at her in his reassuring way. He looked over at his other two students.

"Will you two be alright if I accompany Alice?" Mr. Green asked them.

Junior and Suzy nodded in conformation, already letting the two paramedics look them over. Mr. Green kept his hand on the teenager's shoulder and guided her after the medic to his ambulance. The medic helped her up into the vehicle while Mr. Green stood at the door.

"You probably don't remember me," the medic said as he rolled up Alice's sleeve. "I went to the funeral. I knew your mom from work. Name's Curtis."

Alice looked away from the man, staring at her knees. She vaguely remembered seeing him at the funeral. He had been one of the many that told her to rely on him if she ever needed help.

"Huh, that's weird," Curtis remarked to himself, pulling Alice's attention.

"Is something the matter?" Mr. Green asked.

"No. Just based on the blood, I figured the wound would be wider," Curtis answered, studying Alice's injured arm. "They look like they're almost healed."

Mr. Green's eyebrow rose at the answer, and he looked over at the teenager's arm as well, studying it for himself. Alice looked down at her arm, amazed to see that the puncture wounds were nearly closed up. Was this part of her alien DNA?

"I'll just make sure it doesn't get an infection and wrap it up," Curtis stated, getting to work.

Alice watched the man work quietly, not answering any of his questions or making small talk with him. Mr. Green picked up on the girl's anxiety and drew the medic's attention away from his student, answering questions on her behalf.

"Alice?! Alice?!"

Alice's eyes moved up from her arm to the open doors, surprised to hear someone call for her. Aunt Muriel and Uncle Eustace were out in Nowhere, and there was no way they could reach the school in such a short amount of time. Plus, it didn't sound like either of them. She watched Mr. Green raise a hand and give it a quick wave.

"Over here, Professor," the demon spoke up loud enough for the man to hear.

A second later, the Professor appeared at the door, slightly out of breath. Alice blinked in surprise, wondering why the Professor was around.

"Oh, thank goodness," the Professor sighed in relief. "I came as soon as I heard."

"Have you any word on the Girls, Professor?" Mr. Green asked. "I haven't seen them yet."

"They're still in Downtown. They were called down there before all this happened," the Professor answered.

The Professor's eyes widened when he realized that Alice was in the back of an ambulance and was having her wounds wrapped up. His face went pale in fright.

"What happened? Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Minor wound," Curtis answered in Alice's place. "Just need to have it bandaged."

The Professor nodded, color coming back to his face.

"Okay, okay," he sighed in relief. "Will you be finished soon?"

Curtis paused in his administration and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the Professor.

"Why do you ask?" he asked.

The Professor's eyebrows flew up into his hairline, whether because of the medic's question or the way he said it.

"Her aunt asked me to look after her," the Professor answered.

"Unless you're her legal guardian, which I know you're not, then the school has to give the okay," the medic stated, standing his ground.

"I'm on her emergency card!" the Professor argued. His eyes travelled until they landed on a particular figure walking by. "Mrs. Atoms!"

Mrs. Atoms, Principal Goodvibe's secretary, arrived a second later, looking frazzled and stressed. In her hands was a clipboard. Her eyes landed on Alice and a relieved smile appeared on her face as she wrote something - Alice assumed her name - on the piece of paper attached to the clipboard.

"Mrs. Atoms, could you release Alice to my care?" the Professor asked the secretary.

"Does she need to go to the hospital?" Mrs. Atoms asked her question to the medic.

"No, just a wrap up," Curtis answered, taping up the end of the bandage.

"Is your aunt with you, Alice?" Mrs. Atoms asked Alice, her voice soft.

Alice shook her head and answered simply, "Nowhere."

Mrs. Atoms nodded. "Very well then. You are an emergency contact for her, so I'll leave her in your care." Her eyes darted around. "If you'll excuse me, I need to continue finding students."

"There's still missing students?" Mr. Green asked worriedly.

Mrs. Atoms nodded, a sad frown forming on her face. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm still missing four hundred and thirteen students."

Alice felt her blood chill at the number. Four hundred and thirteen was a lot of students to be missing. Maybe some of those weren't accounted for, yet, but the pit in Alice's stomach didn't loosen at the thought.

"I'll help," Mr. Green offered the secretary.

Mrs. Atom's sad frown turned into a thankful smile, and she moved away from the ambulance with Mr. Green in tow. With Alice's wound addressed, Curtis, reluctantly, released Alice to the Professor. The older man put a hand around her shoulder and walked her to his house, away from the school. Alice took one last glance over her shoulder and noticed that some of that green gooey substance was beginning to leak out of the school's exterior.

* * *

" **ARGH!** " Dexter shouted out in frustration, swiping his hand across his desk and knocking off everything on the surface.

His A.I. secretary stood on the opposite side of the desk, staring unflinchingly at her boss' display of aggression. Dexter fell into his seat, hiding his head in his hands. Behind him, Ultimate Exposure and the Kids Next Door Nightly News were reporting on the alien invasion happening in the Suburbs and Downtown. They had been reporting on the invasion all day, showing the efforts being made by the heroes - the Kids Next Door, the Powerpuff Girls, and Ben - to keep the aliens at bay, but the strategy was defensive and was doing little to stop the advancing aliens who were multiplying faster than the heroes could put them down.

He hadn't been able to go out on the front lines and help much against the aliens since his Dexo-Transformer suit was still being repaired after _someone_ borrowed it and broke it. He kept an eye out for the Justice Friends, or Monkey, or Imaginary Man, or Captain Planet, or the military, or one of the giant robots, either Megas or Titan, but with each passing hour, he grew more and more disturbed by their absence. So, he immediately made some calls.

His calls went absolutely nowhere. The Plumbers, Kids Next Door, and the Professor had answered him, but they had no information that was useful. The military and Global Security were silent, not answering his calls. He didn't know how to get a hold of Imaginary Man, Titan, Captain Planet, or Megas. Providence demanded to know how he got their number and to lose it. Overall, it was a wasted day with no solution in sight.

With his calls doing nothing productive, he turned his attention to what else the two news programs were reporting on: the environmental damage. Already, parts of the Suburbs and Downtown were being infected by strange bulbous looking plants that were pumping out tiny, ball shaped aliens. The infection was harmful to humans, but without a sample to test on, Dexter had no way of studying it, let alone curing it. That would have to come later, which left him with nothing productive to do, which made him even more furious.

"What am I supposed to do!?" Dexter demanded outloud, venting his frustrations.

"Dexter?" his assistant called to him. "May I make a suggestion?"

"What?" Dexter snapped, still on edge.

"I believe you should go through with your video conference," Computress told him.

Dexter removed his head from his hands, turning to give his robotic assistant a look of disbelief. Dexter had planned the video conference a day prior, before everything slipped into chaos. The intention of the conference was to talk about the bus slider's new feature. The new feature was a force field that would be activated while the bus was in motion to keep the passengers safe. With all that had happened so far, having a conference was the furthest thing on his mind.

"What good would that do?" Dexter demanded. "How do you think the public will react to my talking about the bus's new feature while there's _aliens running around on their front yard?_ "

"You are mistaken. I did not say you should talk about the bus slide's new feature," Computress countered in her programmed calmness.

Dexter blinked, stumped.

"You should reassure the public about the invasion and tell them what is known so far," Computress continued.

"We don't know anything," Dexter countered. "That's my frustration."

"That is true, but no one has spoken to the public yet," Computress answered. "It will make the public feel better if someone can go and reassure them that information will be found out and shared."

Dexter blinked again and leaned back in his seat. It was true, no one had come forth to reassure the public. The Mayor was probably hiding away in City Hall, trying to stay safe from the aliens, and Ms. Bellum would be busy keeping him safe. The military wasn't answering his calls, so there was no chance General Specific was going to make a public statement (not like it would have been reassuring to begin with, anyways). Ben and the Powerpuffs were busy handling the situation on the ground, so they wouldn't get the chance either. If Dexter couldn't help in the fight, he could at least do this small bit to reassure the public that things would be okay.

Besides, with Global Security and the military on radio silence, and the aliens multiplying their forces every second, they might need to ask for volunteers, and now was a good time as any to plant the seed.

"Alright then," Dexter agreed. "Let the media know." Computress nodded, preparing to follow through with her orders. She was about to make contact with the only news sources still working when Dexter stopped her. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier."

"Of course, Dexter," Computress said easily. This honestly wasn't the first time she'd seen him so angry, and so she didn't take stock in his emotional outburst.

With Computress taking care of the media, Dexter leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

"Time to write," he muttered.

* * *

Alice sat on the Professor's couch, her knees tucked up against her chest and on arm wrapped around her legs. Her hair was wet, fresh from the shower she had just taken. Her clothes had been put into the washer so they could be cleaned, and the Professor had given her a spare shirt and shorts to wear in the meantime. Her bandage was off, having done so prior to the shower. Curtis would probably be mad, but she hadn't wanted it to get wet. Besides, it didn't matter. The wound wasn't there, leaving no trace of injury. The burning she had felt from the creature was also gone, but that had stopped hurting even before she had evacuated from the school.

She stared at her hand, the one she had thrown out at the creature when it went to attack Suzy. She wasn't sure how she had done it, but she was positive it had been her doing. And then there was the way the hall had mysteriously gone dark in that moment. There had also been a flicker when she had been bitten by one of the creatures. Coupled with that time back in the principal's office when she had learned the fate of her mother, there seemed to be a pattern.

Alice was alone in the Professor's living room, watching Ultimate Exposure, the only news program that was in operation. With all the chaos going on, the Girls wouldn't be returning home till maybe late into the night. The Professor had been in the basement after he sent her to take a shower, and when she had passed the door on her back to the living room, she had heard him talking to somebody on the phone. Whatever it was that he was doing down there, it was important and she didn't want to interrupt him.

She had been able to talk to her aunt before she took her shower, reassuring the older woman that she was fine. Her aunt, uncle and Courage were okay, too, just shaken up from what was going on around the world. Alice's school hadn't been the only place that got hit by those strange creatures. The news was talking about the creatures, showing that these things were taking on newer and scarier forms, some of them much larger than a regular human being. Every thirty minutes, they mentioned how many people were missing, and the number kept rising. She had to close her eyes and cover her ears when the reports came up. She didn't want to know; she didn't want to think about it.

"Is the T.V. not working?"

Alice almost fell off the couch in fright, startled by the Professor's sudden appearance. She whirled around and stared at him with wide eyes, which must have spooked him because he held up his hands in a gesture to calm her down.

"Sorry, Alice. I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized, moving around the couch and taking a seat inches away from her.

"Sorry," Alice murmured, pulling her knees closer to her chest, embarrassed for her outburst.

"It's okay. You've got a lot on your mind," he reassured her, smiling his fatherly smile. "Oh, the T.V.'s working again."

She looked to the screen, finding that they were reporting on the creatures down in Orchid Bay. She shivered when she saw the large creatures roaming the area, looking even more terrifying than the creature she saw at the school.

"Professor, do you know what those things are?" Alice asked, gesturing to the screen.

"No. Nothing except that they're not from our planet," he admitted, his eyes moving away from the T.V. screen to the girl. "The news mentioned there was going to be an announcement from DexLabs, right?"

Alice nodded in answer, remembering about them mentioning it and also silently wondering how he knew since he was in his basement. Was there a T.V. down there that he was watching off of? Was the T.V. loud enough for him to hear? Did someone call him?

The Professor smiled and then his eyes fell on her arm, the one that was supposed to be injured. His eyebrows raised up into his hairline; he looked surprised, but not shocked. It was a curious look to have, but it made Alice feel self-conscious, so she placed her hand over where the puncture wounds used to be, hiding it away from the adult.

"It healed," Alice supplied, feeling like she had to explain her injury's sudden disappearance.

The Professor nodded his head in agreement. "Your mother mentioned it to me when you were littler."

"I never noticed before," the girl said, moving her hand off of the healed section. "When I wouldn't get sick, mom always told me my immune system was stronger than others." Alice began playing with her hair, frowning at it lightly. "I guess there were a lot of signs I wasn't normal."

The Professor shook his head, leaning back further into the couch.

"Our world is filled with super humans, - some of them created, some of them born with it - aliens, talking animals, EVOs, demons, Imaginary Friends, and more." He turned and grinned at her. "I think the definition of normal shifted years ago."

Despite herself, Alice returned his grin with a small smile of her own. She wasn't comfortable yet with her heritage, but when the Professor listed out all the different kinds of people that made up their world, her being an alien really didn't feel like such a strange phenomenon.

"...This just in, Dexter McPherson has begun his live video feed," Diane Farrah announced, calling their attention to the T.V. set. "Let's listen in."

The Professor looked at his watch and clicked his tongue. "Five minutes late."

The T.V. showed DexLab's logo moments followed shortly after by a live video feed of the boy genius himself, showing Dexter sitting at his desk, his arms resting against the mechanical surface.

"Greetings. I am Dexter, CEO and Founder of DexLabs Inc.," Dexter began, his tone professional and calm. "As you already know, we have been attacked by alien invaders." Alice curled in on herself a bit more, and didn't say a word when the Professor rested a hand on her shoulder. "Based on the field reports I have received, the invasion hit harder in certain parts of the world than others, spreading a toxic substance in the area, coupled with a larger number of alien creatures. I am looking into a way to contain the area and cure the substance. All I can say for certain is that this substance is harmful to humans, so do _not_ touch it."

As Dexter was speaking, images of the areas that were heavily infected appeared over his left shoulder. Alice recognized a few of the locations, such as Father's development site in Peach Creek Estates and Goat's Junkyard. "There is still more to learn about these aliens that have invaded our planet. Unfortunately, I do not have all the answers at this time, but I will be seeking them out. For the time being, stay indoors and away from these creatures as much as possible."

Dexter's brows knitted together, looking troubled. It took him a few seconds to start again. "That being said, the current prediction is that we will require volunteers to assist in this fight against the aliens. These invaders are multiplying at a rate that cannot be matched, and our current roster of heroes might not be enough this time around. For anyone able and willing, any help would be appreciated. Anyone over the age of eleven will be considered. More details will be provided at a later time." His brows unknitted, and his face relaxed into its professional mask. "Thank you for tuning in, and good night."

The DexLabs logo appeared once more, before it returned to the news studio. The Professor turned down the volume, since Diane was now repeating Dexter's words and speculating over the future. The Professor used his free hand to run his fingers through his hair, a heavy sigh escaping his mouth.

"Not terribly enlightening, but it's only day one," the Professor commented. "Asking for volunteers so young, though..." He shook his head. "I guess there's the Kids Next Door... And my daughters were young when they began their crime fighting... And Dexter and Mandark both have businesses at such a young age... Even Ben was doing his alien heroics as a younger kid..." He hummed in deep thought. "Is it a statement of our society that we rely so much on kids?"

Alice didn't answer the Professor's question, though considering the contemplative look on his face, she didn't think he was actually looking for an answer and was merely posing a rhetorical question. She looked back over at the T.V. screen, taking in a sharp breath. The news was showing footage of the planet that was looming over theirs. Alice shut her eyes in fright and buried her head in her knees. The T.V. went black for a moment, and the lights around them shut off, temporarily throwing the room into darkness. A second later, the T.V. and the lights turned on.

"What the-? A power surge?" the Professor asked, looking around in surprise. "Must be those creatures. I'll go che-"

"No!" Alice interrupted, whipping her head to look at him. If he went outside thinking one of those aliens had done this and he was hurt or killed...Once again, the T.V. and lights turned off and on, surprising the Professor.

"Alice, what's going on?" the man asked, looking at her in worry.

Alice looked away from him, staring at her hand, the one she had used against the monster at the school. She wasn't prepared to tell him, but she had to tell someone. He had raised three superpowered little girls; who better than him would understand?

"The lights...that's me," Alice answered. "At the school... the lights went out when I moved some lockers...without touching them." She closed her eyes, pressing her clenched hand to her chest. "I-I have powers."

"... _ **WHAT?!**_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Thank you for reading my second chapter.
> 
> For those who may not recognize the name, Atomic Betty, and everything associated with her, comes from the show Atomic Betty, which is produced and owned by Teletoons. Of all cartoons out there that I would love added to FusionFall, this show is at the very top of the list. I included her and her team back in my original story, and I'm including it here once again.
> 
> Suzy in this story is an aged-up Lil' Suzy from Johnny Bravo. She doesn't have a surname in the show proper (at least none I could find), so I've opted to give her the surname Sunshine. With Johnny already in the game and Carl added a few updates back, I really hope Suzy gets her chance to shine in the game.
> 
> Plumbers Jim and Carol are from the game. Jim is in Sector V and Carol is in Forgotten Falls.
> 
> I tried looking for what Principal Goodvibe's secretary was named, but came back with nothing, so I opted to make a secretary and named her after the creator of the show.
> 
> Originally, I was going to have the military be more active, but then I realized it would take the point away from having volunteers, so I scrapped them and had General Specific from Sheep in the Big City be out of commission.
> 
> Imaginary Man is from Foster's Home From Imaginary Friends, and while I understand why he couldn't be in the game, I still wish we had some representation from him. (At some point you'll notice that I like to write in one-episode characters).


	3. The Time Is Now

"This is a bad idea."

"Yes, Tennyson, I know," Dexter growled out, arms crossed, one hand clenching the opposite arm in annoyance. "You've told me _several times_ now."

"Have I mentioned it's a really bad idea?" Ben challenged, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind the back of his head. "Because this is a _really_ bad idea."

"Ben," Gwen scolded, swatting her cousin on the arm. "You can knock it off now. It's getting old."

"You're starting to sound like a four-year-old," Kevin piped up from the other side of his girlfriend, resting his head lazily in his hand.

Ben leaned forward, resting one arm against the conference table he was seated at.

"Sorry, but I just have to point out it's a bad idea to have _those two_ in a hospital filled with injured citizens," the teenager remarked, pointing a thumb at where Mojo Jojo and Mandark sat. Mojo rolled his eyes, not wanting to engage in verbal combat with someone he deemed of lesser evolutionary standing. Mandark was seething as well, mostly because he was annoyed to be lumped together with Mojo. "Why are they even here?"

Dexter grumbled some unkind words under his breath, rubbing the spot just between his eyes in aggravation. He was running low on sleep, coffee, and patience. Since the alien invasion, Dexter's stress level went higher and higher. He was busy with rolling out the new force-field containment for the heavily infected areas in the world, and he was trying to manage the volunteers that were pouring into Tech Square. There were people lined up when he left for Offworld Plaza, and so it's why he left Computress behind to see to their registration. On top of all _that_ stress, there was also this meeting, which _he_ hadn't even planned at the start.

Max Tennyson had phoned Dexter in the late afternoon the day prior, stating that he had vital information on their enemy, and wanted to share it with the genius and whoever else Dexter deemed important enough to know. However, because of the aged man's responsibilities with the Plumbers, he was sending his grandson's team in his place, and tasked Dexter with getting the ball rolling. So, Dexter filled out the rest of the roster, with all but one currently in attendance.

As loathe as Dexter was to admit it, the boy genius had called in Mandark for the meeting. While Mandark was infinitely in superior to Dexter in every way possible, Dexter couldn't deny that Mandark would be an asset in the war that was being waged. The Professor, Bubbles and Blossom were obvious choices as well. The Powerpuffs were heroes and would need to hear this information, and the Professor was a leading mind in science. Double D, Mojo Jojo, and Kiva Andru were out of left field choices, but were necessary. Double D was a kid from the Cul-de-Sac that Dexter had encountered occasionally at science fairs. The kid was a scarily talented engineer, and he had contacted Dexter about his theory on the alien invaders, and that had piqued Dexter's interest. The boy genius had extended an invitation to Coop Kaplowski since he was Megas' driver, arguably the most powerful thing to fight the aliens, but Kiva Andru had come in his stead. Kiva deemed the meeting too important to let Coop come alone to, so she invited herself (and apparently, Coop and Jamie had a _Beasts and Barbarians_ video game tournament running that Coop deemed more important than a meeting to save the world). Sitting next to her was the Providence representative, Amber Ignis. Although he had been unsure if Providence would even bother answering his call considering how that went last time, the woman had been the first to show up. Mojo's inclusion had earned him an annoyed glare from Blossom (and Ben's many vocal complaints), but Mojo's reason for being there was for something Dexter was planning after the meeting. The only unknown, uninvited individual was the lone samurai sitting in the corner. The stranger had just appeared out of nowhere and sat himself in the corner, pulling his straw hat over his eyes and probably resting. No one dared to approach him and tell him to leave, so he was allowed to stay.

The group in attendance was at Memorial Hospital, using one of their largest rooms for the meeting. The initial plan was to have it at DexLabs, but Dexter didn't want Mojo or Mandark near his technology. The hospital seemed like neutral territory, though the annoyed look they had received from a pink haired volunteer upon arriving made Dexter wonder how long the staff would allow them to use the room before coming in and kicking them out. The meeting was supposed to have started ten minutes ago, but they were being held up by one missing member. Dexter had sent out an invitation to Kids Next Door operative Numbuh One of Sector V, and the eleven-year-old had yet to make an appearance.

The door at the front of the room suddenly opened, and in stepped Numbuhs Two and Five of Sector V. Not Numbuh One.

"Oh. Are we late?" Numbuh Two asked, staring back at all the eyes on him.

Dexter almost responded, because honestly, he was reaching the end of his fuse. However, Numbuh Five beat him to it. She took off her hat and whacked him on the shoulder with it.

"Of course we're late. Numbuh Five told you to hurry up, but you had to mess with the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. anyway," his fellow operative lectured.

"Well I couldn't just let that noise slide," Numbuh Two argued back, defending himself. "How was I supposed to know it was a hamster getting a tan?"

"Can we get to the matter at hand?" Dexter cut in, shutting down their argument. "I sent the invitation to Numbuh One. Where is he?"

"He's back at the Treehouse," Numbuh Five answered, already moving toward an open seat on the opposite of Mandark. Numbuh Two followed behind her dutifully, flashing an embarrassed smile at the group. "With communications down between us and the Moonbase, Numbuh One is filling in as Soopreme Leaduh. He sent us in his place."

"Fine. With you two here, we can _finally_ start," Dexter said with a sigh, resisting the urge to run his hand down his face. He turned and addressed Ben, "What can you tell us about these creatures?"

Ben pulled out a disc the size of his palm from his jacket's pocket, and placed it in the middle of the table. He then tapped the glassy surface, bringing up a holographic projection of the planet that was looming up in the sky.

"So, according to the Galactic Enforcers, this is Planet Fusion," he explained, resting his arm on the table once more. "The planet is ruled by some jerk known simply as Lord Fuse, and his underlings that invaded our planet three days ago are referred to as Fusions. They come out of Terrafusers, which are the plants that are taking root in our soil. No information on how long he's been around, but the estimated belief is that he has been conquering and consuming planets far longer than a millennia. The Galactic Guardians-"

"Uh... you mean the Galactic Enforcers?" Numbuh Two cut in, attempting to correct Ben.

"Nope. There's the Enforcers and then the Guardians," Kevin answered in the other teen's place. "Pretty unoriginal naming if you ask me."

Gwen elbowed her boyfriend as a warning.

"Yeah, so anyways, according to them, only two planets have survived an assault by Fuse. The Glorfts managed to repel Fuse-"

"Of course they did," Kiva complained with a huff.

"- and the Ectonurites joined forces to protect themselves against him," Ben continued, not at all stopping when he heard Kiva's comment. "All other planets that have crossed paths with Fuse and his planet were wiped out completely."

There was a moment of silence after the info dump Ben laid on them. Each person was digesting the information they had been given. Kevin and Gwen were the only two unaffected, already having heard this from Max. They had more time to digest the information over the others.

"So... is there any way to stop this Fuse?" Professor Utonium asked, looking around the group uncertainly. "Mojo, you went up against him and came out of it in one piece. Any ideas?"

Mojo crossed his arms and pointedly looked away from everyone in the room.

"Hmph. It is true that I, Mojo Jojo, encountered Fuse in my giant robot and that I, Mojo Jojo, returned to Earth in one piece. However, there is no information to be given," the simian answered.

Mandark snorted, rolling his eyes from behind his glasses. "Well that was useless."

Bubbles frowned in Mandark's direction, but turned a comforting smile in Mojo's direction.

"It's okay, Mojo. You did what you could," she encouraged him.

"So there's no way to stop him?" Double D fretted, wringing his hands out of anxiety.

"The military is in shambles," Dexter reported, one finger tapping the table surface rhythmically. "Global Security and the Justice Friends haven't responded to any of my calls. Communication was lost with the Moonbase. Imaginary Man and Monkey, along with low-tier heroes, are missing."

"Megas is completely covered in that Fusion goo," Kiva added in, frowning. "We've been trying to get close to it, but haven't made any progress."

"The Galactic Enforcers are too far away to help," Gwen jumped in. "The Galactic Guardians have agreed to help, but twenty-five percent of their fleet have gone missing, presumably by Fuse."

"What about those volunteers?" Blossom asked, directing her question and gaze at Dexter. "You mentioned something about them in your broadcast. Are you serious about it?"

Dexter exhaled through his nostrils, trying those deep-breathing exercises his sister lectured him about.

"I didn't have any plans finalized on the matter, but many popped up the morning after, signing up to help in whatever way possible," Dexter answered, rubbing his left temple. "The Kids Next Door opened up their own volunteer system, haven't they?"

Numbuhs Two and Five nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, just yesterday in fact," Numbuh Five answered. "So long as they're under the age of eleven, kids can sign up as volunteers only without joining the organization officially. They're given supplies and weapons by us, but they can't enter a Sector's treehouse or be in any of our meetings."

"Rolf is doing something similar with the Urban Rangers," Double D piped in. "Although Rolf _is_ making them join the organization as official members, and they can't venture far from the Suburbs."

"The Plumbers are planning to go public and supply the volunteers with whatever technology they can give to help out," Ben contributed to the conversation, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his neck. "I talked to Rex over at Providence, and apparently they're thinking of doing something similar. That's still the plan, right Amber?"

Amber's frown deepened into a scowl, annoyed with the familiarity Ben had when speaking to her. She didn't vocalize her issue, however, and settled for nodding in confirmation at his question.

"DexLabs is already producing weapons and armor to help," Dexter said. "What about you, Mandark?"

"Of course Mandark Industries will be producing weapons and armor," Mandark stated, slightly appalled that Dexter would imply otherwise. "I can't have you flooding the market with your inferior product!"

Dexter rolled his eyes, not letting his heckles rise at the jab. He had other things to take care of. "After today's meeting, I will be issuing a public statement in regards to volunteering. I hope to have it more fleshed out once I finalize one last issue," Dexter explained vaguely, not going into any detail about what the issue was. "In the meantime, if organizations or groups you are apart of can help supply the volunteers with gear, armor, weapons, whatever, that would be of great assistance. In the crisis to come, we will need every bit of help we can find."

"Excuse me. If I might ask, how much is known about his underlings?" the samurai questioned, causing a few members to jump in their seats due to having forgotten he was around. He was standing up in the corner, lifting up the brim of his straw hat so that he could see everyone.

"Well... the smallest monsters are called Fusion Spawns," Ben answered. "But that's all the information we have on them. Apparently, the new variations that have been popping up are new."

The samurai frowned slightly in thought. "I see. So it is possible for them to take on any shape they wish?"

"From what we've been told, yes," Gwen answered.

The samurai nodded, his face clearing with a look of epiphany.

"I see, so that explains why the creature looked like myself," the samurai commented aloud.

Various people stared in surprise at the samurai, some dropping their mouths open in surprise. Mojo Jojo looked alarmed by the revelation, Double D looked ready to faint, and even Amber, who had been apathetic throughout the meeting, raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Could you repeat that?" Dexter questioned. "Did you just say one of these Fusion monsters _looked_ like you?"

"Correct," the samurai answered. "I was in the Darklands when a small monster - I believe you would call it a Fusion Spawn - rushed up and stole my sandal. After a second or so, the creature began to transform, and it took the shape of myself," The samurai rubbed his left eye almost absentmindedly, and it was then that the assembled group noticed the freshly made scar running down his eye. "I did battle with it, and managed to drive it off."

"You weren't able to get rid of it?" Bubbles asked curiously.

The samurai dropped his head in shame. "Unfortunately, no. The Fusion was more powerful than I suspected it to be. I only managed to stave it off. I suspect it is still somewhere in the Darklands."

Dexter dropped his head back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment as he collected his thoughts. At that moment, they were interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by the same pink-haired volunteer from earlier poking her head in.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but are you almost done?" the kid asked. "We need the space."

Dexter glanced over Ben's way, silently asking the teenager if there was anything else he was leaving out. Ben shook his head in the negative.

"Yes, that's all," Dexter answered the girl. "But I'll need the room for only a few minutes more."

The pink haired kid frowned in annoyance. "Fine, but only five more." She closed the door behind her a bit aggressively.

"Well, on that note, I want to thank you all for coming," Dexter addressed the group. "We've learned a lot today, and we have a monumental task laying before us. "

The members stood up and began to exit the room, some talking amongst each other about what they had learned, others already making phone calls.

"Ben, Double D, Mojo," Dexter called, stopping the three from leaving. "I need you three to stay behind for a moment. I need to have a word with you."

Ben raised one eyebrow up, but waved off his cousin and her boyfriend, re-taking his seat and sending a frown in Mojo's direction. Double D, with a perplexed look on his face, mirrored the hero's action and took his seat again. Mojo had been sitting already, so he settled for re-crossing his arms and waiting for whatever it was that Dexter wanted; he had more important things to do. Dexter waited until the last of their guests - the unknown samurai - exited the room before addressing them.

"I need to have a brief conversation with you three about being guides..."

* * *

"...Day Five of Fuse's Invasion, and already the total number of missing persons has risen to..."

Alice muted her television, not wanting to hear Diane Farrah's report. She never used to watch so much news before the alien invasion, but it was the only thing that was on. A majority of the channels had been knocked off air, leaving only a handful still operational. In only a short amount of time, Ultimate Exposure and Harangue Nation became the most watched programs, and even channels that didn't carry the two picked them up. Ultimate Exposure used to be dedicated exclusively to EVOs, but Diane had expanded her reach to talk about the Fusions, and was among the first to do so. Harangue Nation had been knocked off air for a day, but had quickly found a way to get back on T.V., and his anti-alien messages became wildly popular with the invasion going on. Alice stayed away from Harangue, not wanting to hear about what he had to say. Alice had heard that the Kids Next Door had a channel dedicated exclusively to their organization, but they didn't release it for the public, and Alice didn't know how to get access to it. Considering she was just shy of thirteen, she didn't think they'd just willingly tell her.

So much had happened in only a short amount of time, but Alice was used to things changing at the drop of a hat. One day she had a mom, the next she didn't. One day she thought she was human, the next day she found out she was an alien.

One day the world wasn't invaded by aliens, the next day it was.

Since the invasion, information on their invaders began popping up. The planet was known as Planet Fusion and was controlled by an alien by the name of Lord Fuse. The creatures attacking were called Fusions, with the small green ones known as Fusion Spawns. The plant that they came from was known as Terrafusers. The larger creatures didn't have a name, so Dexter was sending out volunteers to catalogue all the different variations and name them. So far, more than three-fourth had been named.

That was another addition: volunteers. Although Dexter had mentioned them in passing on the night of Fuse's invasion, it seemed that people jumped to the call regardless. They signed up and began assisting the heroes in fighting off the Fusions. The Urban Rangers had seen a surge in numbers, and the Kids Next Door were running a volunteer program for any kid under the age of eleven. With these new volunteers, armor and weapons produced by DexLabs, Mandark Industries, the Urban Rangers, the Kids Next Door and the Plumbers (after they went public about their organization) were starting to be sold. Dexter supplied every volunteer with an updated version of his DexLabs communicator, designed specifically for the war.

The volunteers did everything from fighting off Fusions to patrolling to cleaning up Fusion Matter in the Infected Zones. The Infected Zones were the areas that had been heavily damaged by Fusion Matter. A day after the invasion, Dexter had rolled out force-field technology that enclosed the heavily infected areas to keep the toxic substance from spreading faster. Some group known as S.A.C.T. was partnering with DexLabs to clean up the Fusion Matter in these zones since they had some sort of technology that could help contain the toxic substance.

Alice didn't join in the frenzy, choosing to stay tucked up safely in her home. She would have gone to Nowhere to be with her family, but the journey was dangerous now that there were creatures roaming around powerful enough to hurt people. They couldn't come and get her, and she couldn't go to them. Still, that didn't stop her aunt from calling her every day to check in on her, making sure she was doing alright and that the Fusions hadn't gotten her.

Looking away from the news report, Alice glanced out her window, staring out toward the Cul-de-Sac. The Urban Rangers liked to patrol around Peach Creek Commons and Estates, taking out the local Fusions. From time to time, a few Fusions would get close to Alice's home, but the Rangers took care of them without fail. Today, however, something new had been added to the Cul-de-Sac. She got off the couch and stepped out onto the porch, staring across the street to get a better look.

Cardboard boxes surrounded the outline of the Cul-de-Sac, about three layers high. She could see several Urban Rangers standing at the top of the construct, using a pulley system to move the boxes. Curious about what was happening, Alice left her front porch and followed the sidewalk to the entrance, approaching the opening of the fortress which was being guarded by two Rangers Alice didn't recognize. They looked younger than her, but not by very much. The two didn't say a word as Alice walked past them, venturing further inwards. She glanced around as she looked for Double D, finding that the neighborhood had some patches of Fusion Matter spattered around, but not in dangerous doses like the Infected Zones. As she got closer to the dead-end, she found Double D standing at the base of a throne made out of cardboard, a purple chair sitting at the top of the platform. The boy had his back to her, scribbling away on his tablet.

"Double D?" Alice called out cautiously, not wanting to frighten him.

"Yes?" Double D questioned, turning his head to look over his shoulder. His eyes widened when he saw the girl. He turned around so he could face her properly. "Oh, Alice! Salutations! What brings you here?"

"What's this?" Alice asked, gesturing at the walls surrounding them.

"This is our latest creation," Double D explained gleefully. "We're creating a protective fortress around the Cul-de-Sac to keep out the Hydro Hammers and the Power Painsaws." He seemed a little uncomfortable as he added, "As well as the Kankers."

Alice gave the fortress-in-progress another look around. Along with the cardboard boxes being set up around the perimeter, a handful of Rangers were setting up stands around the curved part of the road. In the center was the throne with a red carpet leading up to it. Alice looked back to Double D and frowned.

"Will this be enough?" she asked, remembering how the Fusions had been able to enter the middle school with almost no effort.

"I believe so," Double D responded with confidence. "Once we get this complete, it'll be too high for the Fusions to invade. There'll also be doors at the front, large and sturdy."

Alice looked back over her shoulder at the entrance. Even with the what was put up, there was no normal doors high enough. How it was going to work wasn't noticeable to Alice at the moment, but Double D was one of the smartest people she knew, so she didn't question it. Instead, she focused on another issue she had noticed upon entering the neighborhood.

"It's empty," Alice noted.

In her life, the Cul-de-Sac had never sounded so quiet. The Eds would usually have some sort of scheme running that was large and fantastical.

"Ah, yes," Double D began, briefly pushing back his sock hat so that it was still on his head correctly. "Rolf is away right now, leading a team of Urban Rangers to Foster's to get more cardboard boxes. Madame Foster was kind enough to give away the boxes for free, so long as we went to collect them. Jimmy is somewhere on the outside, helping build the fortress and keep the monsters from getting close. Sarah is doing some reconnaissance for me in Candy Cove. Kevin was pretty upset about Cutts and Bruises Skate Park being turned into an Infection Zone, so he and Nazz went down to Orchid Bay to see if they can help out." Double D frowned slightly as he finished up in an annoyed tone of voice, "Eddy is in his house right now, waiting for construction to finish."

Alice listened, mentally counting off all the kids he mentioned, but frowned when she realized two kids were missing.

"What about Ed and Jonny?" Alice asked.

"Well...Melonhead hasn't been seen in two days..." Double D trailed off slowly, letting Alice fill in the blanks.

Alice nodded, remembering she had heard about the Cul-de-Sac hero's disappearance. Jonny was a good kid, but Alice didn't think he properly lived in their reality. It wasn't that hard to imagine that he answered the call to protect the Cul-de-Sac and squared off against an enemy he vastly underestimated. He was officially labelled as missing.

"And Ed?" Alice asked gently.

Double D released a sad sigh, glancing away from the girl.

"No clue," the sock-hat boy answered. "He just disappeared."

"I'm sorry," Alice said, frowning in sympathy.

Double D's smile returned, but it didn't reach his eyes like it had before.

"It's fine. Ed's strong, so he should be fine," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "You know, he reads so much monster comics, he's probably an expert on dealing with aliens."

Alice nodded, not saying anything. Double D was obviously trying to be optimistic about Ed's disappearance, and she didn't want to say anything to contradict it. She wasn't nearly as optimistic; not with how high the missing numbers were.

"How are you doing, by the way?" Double D asked the girl. "I'm surprised to see you're still around these parts. I would have figured you'd be in Nowhere. Are your aunt and uncle with you?"

Alice shook her head in answer. "No, they're still in Nowhere. They can't come out this way, but they're doing okay. Aunt Muriel calls every day."

"That's good to hear," Double D said, nodding his head. "You know, if you don't feel comfortable living alone right now, you can stay in our spare room. I'd have to ask my parents, but I can safely say that they'd be more than okay with it."

"Thank you, but I'm okay," Alice answered, repeating word for word the exact same thing she told the Professor.

Professor Utonium had made the same offer only days ago. When he had finished raving over the knowledge that Alice did have powers, he had offered a room to the girl so that she wouldn't be alone. The girl had declined, primarily because she wanted to be at her own home.

"The offer stands if you change your mind," Double D replied.

"Hello! Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt."

Double D and Alice turned as one to the new voice, and Alice's eyes doubled in size when she got a look at the newcomer. A very tall, red being was walking toward the two pre-teens, his only arm curled up, holding flattened cardboard boxes. His other arm ended in a short stump, and one eye was looking broken.

"Hi, Wilt," Double D greeted. "You weren't really interrupting." He turned to Alice, using a free hand to gesture at Wilt. "Alice, this is Wilt, from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. He's been helping us gather the cardboard boxes." He then turned to Wilt and gestured at Alice. "Wilt, this is my classmate, Alice."

"Hello, Alice," Wilt greeted, transferring the boxes from his good arm to his bad one, and Alice was moderately surprised to see that he could use the stumped arm properly. He extended his working arm out toward her. "It is very nice to meet you."

Alice shook hands with him, returning his kind greeting with a shy "Hello" in return.

"Pardon me if this is rude, but are you one of the volunteers?" Wilt asked kindly.

Alice noticed the excited look in Double D's eyes, and glanced away to stare at the concrete. Double D was more involved in the war effort than Alice was, having been announced as one of the four Guides who were spearheading the effort to bring down Fuse. After there were so many people volunteering to help out, Dexter had decided to create the Guide system so that, along with taking out Fusions, there would be more concentration on stopping Fuse. Each of the Guides, made up of Dexter, Ben, Double D, and, surprisingly, Mojo Jojo, had their own path to end Fuse.

Dexter believed that they needed to find the missing heroes like Melonhead, Imaginary Man, Monkey, and so forth so that their firepower could be added to the fight. Ben believed that alien technology needed to be found and kept out of Fuse's hands, so that the alien overlord wouldn't have access to them and turn their powers against Earth's army. Mojo Jojo wanted to improve on his monkey minions, wanting to create a large enough army to fight Fuse. Double D believed that there was hidden candy out in the world that could be used against Fuse.

Knowing that Double D was busy with putting up a fortress _and_ providing guidance to volunteers while Alice sat at home away from danger filled the girl with guilt. She felt like such a coward.

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "I live across the street. I saw the fortress and wanted to see what this was."

"Ooh, that's too bad," Wilt commented. "Wait, was that rude? I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Wilt," Double D assured the Imaginary Friend with a gentle smile. "Thank you for helping out. With the way this is going, we’ll have the fortress done by tonight."

"Oh, it's my pleasure!" Wilt replied cheerfully, grinning widely. "I’m always happy to be of assistance."

Alice's attention moved away from the two holding a pleasant conversation, sliding her eyes over the fortress walls, top to bottom. She couldn't be sure, but she felt something bad was close to the other side of the wall. The hair standing on the back of her neck wasn't exactly proof, but that still didn't ease the dread rising up in her.

"Double D-" the girl began, about to ask the sock hat-wearing boy about the safety structure of the fortress.

"FUSIONS OFF THE SOUTH SIDE!!" a voice hollered out loudly, cutting off Alice.

Alice looked around in confusion, trying to remember which way was north and south, but Double D had figured it out quickly, turning in the correct direction. The south side was to the right of the throne, and a lone Urban Ranger was at the top of the wall, firing off with a pistol type weapon. A moment later, a Fusion Monster broke through the wall, creating a hole and sending cardboard boxes flying in different directions. The red hydrant body Fusion Monster took two steps into the neighborhood, using its yellow hydrant hands to smash at the ground.

"HYDRO HAMMER!" an Urban Ranger shrieked.

The Rangers that had been setting up stands either ran off or ran toward the invading monster, depending on if they had a weapon on hand or not. The Hydro Hammer whacked its attackers away with the swipe of its hand, sending the kids flying. Wilt dropped the cardboards he'd brought over from Foster's and was able to raise his arm up, catching a kid that flew by, saving her from hitting the ground.

"Thanks!" the kid chirped, grabbing her baseball bat from off the ground and running back to fight the monster.

"You're welcome," Wilt called after her.

"That isn't a Hydro Hammer," Double D observed, his eyes widening. "It's the boss, High Hydro Hammer. Quickly, we need to get somewhere safe."

"I'm sorry, but shouldn't we help out?" Wilt asked, frowning in concern. "That monster is bad news."

Double D worried his lower lip, glancing around his neighborhood. A small number of Urban Rangers were trying to kill the invader, but more Rangers were lying on the pavement, curled up in injury. Despite Double D's first instinct to run, he took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Right, let's get the injured Rangers out of the fight," Double D agreed. "They're sitting ducks if they stay where they are."

Alice stood rooted in place, watching Wilt and Double D work to get the injured Rangers to safety. Double D moved the Rangers closest to him away from the fight, while Wilt ran closer to the injured Rangers near the hole in the wall. A few Urban Rangers had recovered on their own and went back to join the fight and push the invader back. The High Hydro Hammer didn't want to be cornered at the hole it had created, however, so it swiped at the line of Urban Rangers blocking its path, sending the kids flying back. Wilt ran to their side, scooping up two with his working appendage. He paused in his actions when he noticed the shadow looming over him. He looked up, finding the boss Fusion raise its hand up high over its body, aiming for Wilt and the injured Rangers.

Alice's eyes widened, and for a very brief moment, her scenery changed. She was back in her junior high's hallway, watching a Fusion Monster raise its hand at Suzy and swing it down. When Alice blinked, the scenery returned her to the Cul-de-Sac, and she watched as the High Hydro Hammer brought its hand down upon Wilt and the Rangers he was assisting.

Alice screamed at the top of her lungs, dimly aware that lightbulb glass was breaking around her. She raised a hand up on instinct, like she had done days ago in the junior high hallway, except that nothing flew at the monster. Instead, a ball of energy shaped in the palm of her hand and shot at the monster, hitting it in the side. The monster paused in its attack, turning its attention away from its captives and onto Alice. Moving over the humans below it, the Fusion Monster ran at Alice. Acting on instinct, Alice raised her second hand and fired off more energy balls, one after the other at the monster to slow it down.

The High Hydro Hammer raised its hand up and swung down on Alice, with the girl reflexively crossing her arms into an X above her in an attempt to protect herself. The High Hydro Hammer pressed its hand further into the spot, to ensure that its enemy was defeated, but it felt resistance. Slowly, the hand was pushed back, revealing that Alice had been unharmed. A bright light encased the girl like an outline, and she was protected in a sphere constructed out of blue light. Her hair floated around her and her eyes glowed a bright blue color, hiding away her irises completely.

Alice rose off the ground, using the sphere to push back against the Hydro Hammer's body part until she completely knocked it away from her. The monster stumbled a step from the force, righting itself before it could fall over. Dropping the protective sphere from around her, Alice raised both her arms, and the High Hydro Hammer's arms mimicked her actions, raising up high into the air over its body. Then, with a downward swipe, the High Hydro Hammer's arms mimicked her actions and descended, hitting itself with its own body parts. The momentum sent the boss Fusion to the ground, and it dissolved into a puddle of Fusion Matter.

The light that surrounded Alice like an outline died away, and the light in her eyes gave way to her normal bright blue. She crumpled to her hands and knees, the energy that had powered her vanishing. Anything that had been in her stomach promptly exited out her mouth, becoming a puddle below her. Alice's energy was leaving her, and the muscles in her arms strained with the effort of keeping her upright. A presence at her right side was the only thing stopping her from buckling in exhaustion. She caught a glimpse of a black beanie and an orange shirt, and her mind groggily supplied that this was Double D holding her up. His mouth was moving, but it took a second for Alice to make out what the words were. They sounded muffled, even though she was sitting right next to him.

"-mmy, go and get me a bowl of water, a rag, and a cup of water. Ranger Ralphie, grab a bucket and mop, and clean this up. Ranger Charles, Ranger Melissa, get the injured medical attention. Ranger Joey, gather all the Rangers and protect our fortress. **Do not** allow another monster to enter!"

A chorus of "Affirmative" sounded out from the Rangers Double D had barked orders to, and they were off running to act upon them. Alice was momentarily surprised by Double D's authority; she'd seen him, on the rare occasion, blow up on Ed and Eddy when the two crossed a line, but she had never seen him take command. Maybe his position as the school's editor-in-chief gave him some leadership experience.

"I'm sorry, but can you move?" a voice to her left caught her attention.

Turning her head to look at this new voice was a lot harder than it should have been, but she eventually did it. Crouching at her side was Wilt, his one good eye looking at her in concern. Alice thought over his question, and then shook her head. Her legs were functional, but moving about on her own would end up with her falling over.

"That's okay," Double D said, his voice soft and assuring. "We've got you."

As a team, Double D and Wilt lifted Alice onto her feet, and dragged her to a chair underneath one of the canopies. The shade felt nice and cool to the girl, and she closed her eyes momentarily. Falling asleep sounded like a wonderful idea, but Double D was at her side, keeping her awake. Jimmy arrived with Double D's requested items, handing over a water bottle instead of a cup. He didn't hand over the bowl of water like Alice assumed he would. Instead, he put the rag in the bowl, wringing out the excess water. He was about to clean her face, but paused when he saw the startled look in Alice's eyes. Smiling softly, he held out the rag to the girl, and although she was still drained from her burst of power, Alice managed to grip the rag in her hand and clean around her mouth.

Double D handed her the water bottle after opening it, letting her take a drink out of it on her own instead of doing it for her, saving her from the embarrassment. Her energy was coming back to her, and so she was able to hold it steady. She took a long sip of the drink, recognizing that it was one of Jimmy's fancy brands. She dropped her gaze to her lap, embarrassed by the way the trio fussed over her. She meant to thank them for their kindness, but Eddy's sudden arrival and the accusing look on his face shut her up.

"What the **_heck_** was that!?" Eddy demanded, freaked out.

"A Fusion Monster," Double D answered, rising to his feet. "Specifically a High Hydro Hammer."

"I'm not talking about that, genius," Eddy snapped, glaring at his slightly taller friend. He thrust out a hand in Alice's direction. "I'm talking about _her_! I wanna know how an _EVO_ got in my fortress!"

Alice reeled back from the accusation; not because she was actually an EVO, but because his words were laced in venom.

"Eddy!" Double D snapped, a disapproving glare on his face. "She just saved the Cul-de-Sac, which includes you! Try to show some gratitude."

"Defending the fort was your job," Eddy argued back. "We wouldn't have needed her help had you done your job right."

Double D sputtered indignantly at the accusation.

"I'm sorry, but that's not okay," Wilt jumped into the conversation with a frown on his face, coming to Double D and Alice's defense.

"Yeah, even if she is an EVO, she was still nice enough to help us!" Jimmy added in.

"I'm not an EVO," Alice spoke up, her free hand flying up to cover her mouth just a second after.

She didn't know what compelled her to speak out, but the words were left out in the open, and all attention was back on her. Eddy's eyes narrowed in accusation.

"What then? A demon?" Eddy demanded. "That's even worse!"

Alice removed her hand from her mouth, moving it to her lap. She didn't dare meet anyone's eyes, worried about what the response would be when she revealed the truth.

"I'm an alien," she answered slowly, closing her eyes. "I...I was sent here when I was a baby. I only just found out very recently."

"An alien, huh?" Eddy questioned. He pointed at the hole in the wall made by the High Hydro Hammer, keeping his narrowed eyes on Alice. "Like one of _them_?"

Alice flinched at the accusation, keeping her eyes clenched shut so she wouldn't have to see the frightened looks on everyone else's faces.

"Take that back!" Jimmy spoke up, his voice rising several octaves. "She saved us, so she's clearly not on their side!"

Eddy frowned, transferring his attention from Jimmy to Alice. The girl continued to sit in the lawn chair, skin still pale from her earlier display of power, eyes shut tightly. Her face was twisted up in fear. Eddy's anger and fright simmered down, and he looked away in guilt. He didn't know Alice as a friend, but he did know what she was like, and she wasn't his enemy. He had been scared when he saw the Hydro Hammer break through his fortress' defenses and then at Alice's power, and he had taken that fear out on Alice. He knew that wasn't right, but he was too proud to admit it.

"Whatever," Eddy muttered, turning around and heading back for his home.

"I'm sorry, but that was seriously rude of him," Wilt commented, frowning at Eddy's retreating form.

Double D sighed in frustration, already preparing the lecture he would give to Eddy later in the day. "That’s Eddy for you."

"Are you feeling better?" Jimmy asked Alice, smiling when he saw her open her eyes.

"Yes," Alice answered. "Thank you."

"Awwh, it's no problem," Jimmy said. "Eddy's just a big bully."

"Alice, if I may ask, what exactly _did_ you do?" Double D asked, crouching down at Alice's side again.

"I... don't know," Alice answered, looking down at her hands. "Not entirely. Mr. Tennyson said it could be a few things, but he doesn't know either. I...I never tested them to see what I could do."

She clenched her hand, feeling guilt course through her. The Professor had relayed to Max Tennyson that Alice had powers, and Max had relayed that information to Ben. While Max wanted her to come and see him in Townsville Park (Plumber Headquarters under Space Port was quarantined off in an Infected Zone, so Max and the Plumbers had to relocate elsewhere) to test out her powers, he had Ben as the messenger since Ben was closer to Alice's age than he was, and he figured she'd be more willing to agree. Ben was nothing but persistent, and contacted her at least once a day, trying to get her to go meet his grandpa and to join the war. Alice had ignored each request, choosing to stay home.

It was an incredibly selfish move.

"Ohohoho. What has happened while Rolf has been away?"

The tension was momentarily broken by Rolf's sudden appearance, his band of four Urban Rangers following immediately behind him. Rolf hopped off of his trusty pig Wilbur, directing the pig and his Rangers to take the cardboard boxes to the hole in the wall, and then made his way to the group.

"Hello all," Rolf greeted cheerily. "Ranger Jimmy, report."

Jimmy saluted, instantly falling into his Ranger persona.

"A High Hydro Hammer invaded the Cul-de-Sac, but Alice fought it off, sir!" Jimmy reported.

Rolf's eyebrows raised up into his hairline, skeptical of his subordinate's assessment. He glanced around Jimmy's person to look at the girl in question, frowning heavily when he saw the girl curl inward.

"Hmmm?" Rolf hummed, scrutinizing the girl. "You are sure?"

"It's true," Double D stepped in, backing up Jimmy's story. "Of course, she didn't do it with any physical strength."

"Hmph. Rolf does not believe Alice girl knows how to fight," Rolf stated. Wilt opened his mouth to protest, but Rolf was finished with the conversation. "No matter. There is work to be done. Ranger Jimmy, back to your post!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Jimmy shouted, following behind his leader. He paused just long enough to look over his shoulder and give a "See ya later, Alice!" before he continued after Rolf, grabbing Wilt's dropped cardboard boxes along the way.

"Thank you, Alice," Double D said out of nowhere, surprising the girl.

"Why?" Alice asked.

"Why?" Double D repeated, looking back at her in confusion. "You saved us!"

"I'm sorry, but if it hadn't been for you, that monster would have gone on a rampage," Wilt added in.

"More Fusions would have breached our defenses," Double D continued. "The Urban Rangers would have been badly hurt, or even worse."

"If you hadn't stepped in, I would have been squished." A shiver ran through the Imaginary Friend's body, like he was recalling a bad memory. "I'm sorry, but that is not a fun experience."

"I know you've been through a lot," Double D stated tenderly. "And this may be scary, but the alliance could really use someone like you."

Alice's face flushed in embarrassment under their praise, her hand tightening up around her water bottle. She averted her gaze, letting her attention wander over her surroundings. The Fusion Matter had been cleaned up, and the Urban Rangers - under Rolf's loud instructions - were making quick work on patching up the hole.

Double D and Wilt were right. If Alice had stayed holed up in her home instead of investigating the Cul-de-Sac's fortress, the High Hydro Hammer could have done more damage than a hole in the wall. Who knows how many more Rangers would have been seriously hurt? Would any of them have gone missing? And what about Double D? He was a Guide, making him a very important person to the war. What would have been lost if Double D had been attacked by the boss Fusion?

"You're right," she muttered. "I'll... I'll join the volunteers."

Wilt and Double D shared a brief look of surprise with each other before turning their attention back on the girl curled inward in the chair in front of them.

"Are you sure?" the Imaginary Friend asked her with a concerned frown on his face.

Alice gulped and nodded, moving her eyes away from the hole to look at the water bottle in her lap.

"Yes," she agreed, hoping that she sounded more confident than she felt.

\----------

Alice fidgeted, running her eyes side to side in anxiety. Her eyes roamed over the space, taking in the appearance of all the other kids waiting in line around her. All of them looked more confident in their choice than she felt. She hadn't told her aunt and uncle about her choice yet, mainly because she was afraid of losing her nerves if she talked to them about it. Her aunt and uncle disagreed with letting young people join in the war efforts, and there was a good chance neither of them would approve of her joining.

She was in Tech Square, in front of DexLabs, where five stations had been set up to process the incoming volunteers. Hovering overhead were three large bulletin boards, each one displaying a holographic image of DexLabs founder, Dexter. Alice had heard the recorded message enough times to have it memorized.

"Greetings. Thank you for joining in the effort to protect the Earth from our alien invaders. Before you may participate, you will be required to choose a Guide. This Guide that you will choose will provide you with specific requests in an effort to bring an end to our enemy. If, for whatever reason, you no longer wish to be with this Guide, you have the option to change from one to another at a later time," Dexter's pre-recorded message explained. "Remember: The time is now. The hero is you."

A Dexbot stood at attention by each station, helping streamline the process as volunteers traded in their old communicators for new ones, specially designed for the war. The morning after the invasion, the entire plaza had been filled with people wanting to sign up. Because it was later in the day, there were only a few.

The kid in front of Alice stepped away from the station, taking their newly minted communicator with them. Alice took a hesitant step forward, putting her communicator in the slot. On the screen of the station was an image of the four Guides with a small info box underneath each one to explain what their goal for the war was. Alice had been thinking about her choice the entire trip over.

Alice ruled Mojo Jojo out instantly. She didn't want to work with him or for him. While many villains were pledging to assist the heroes in the fight against Fuse (or at least they promised _not_ to interfere in the heroes' efforts), Alice didn't trust their intentions. Mojo's attempts to take over Townsville again and again and again didn't harbor a whole lot of trust for the brainy simian. That left Dexter, Double D and Ben. While Alice did want to help Dexter find the missing heroes, and she knew Double D better than she knew the other Guides, Alice ultimately chose Ben as her guide. His mission with alien technology spoke to Alice more than the missions of the other two. And, maybe, she'd learn more about her blossoming powers.

Alice's new communicator popped out of another slot, having changed from white to green, and the DexLabs logo that was used as the communicator's background image changed to the green hourglass symbol of the Plumbers. All of her contacts, emails, photos (not that she took many) and anything else she saved on her old communicator was transferred directly into the new one. Alice picked up her new device and walked out of line, letting the kid behind her use the station.

She moved away from the lines and went down the steps till she arrived at the fountain that acted as no man's land between DexLabs and Mandarks. No one else was in the vicinity, giving Alice some privacy. She took a seat on the fountain's ledge and balanced her new communicator on her knees. She lightly tapped on the communicator's glassy surface. A holographic projection of a chibi sized Computress appeared from out of it.

"Greetings," the Chibi Computress began, doing a quick bow in greeting. "On behalf of DexLabs Inc, I would like to thank you for agreeing to join in the fight for our world against Lord Fuse and his legion of Fusions. Your new communicator functions as your old communicator did, and all data from your communicator was transferred to this device. Your communicator has been outfitted with several functions necessary for the fight ahead. A hammerspace function has been added to carry your items for you, no matter the weight and size. Simply pressing the digitize button will put your item in the communicator. Tapping on the button again will de-digitalize it. Your communicator's ID number has been registered with DexLabs, and has been given its own unique email address. With this new address, DexLabs, your Guide, and important members to the war has access to it and can send you emails requesting your assistance. A journal application has been added to your communicator, to help keep track of what requests you have taken on. A directory on Fusion Monsters has been added, and is updated frequently to reflect the most recent data. A Fusion Matter containment unit has been equipped, and will clean up Fusion Matter from defeated Fusion Monsters. It also functions as a counter, keeping track of the number of Fusions you defeat. Your communicator will also give you access to the Infected Zones. Simply present it to the Dexbot attendant, and you will be..."

Alice followed Chibi Computress' tutorial, watching the holographic projection show where each new function of the communicator was. As the tutorial went on, the reality that she was committing herself to the war twisted her stomach into painful knots. Her hands shook as the fear flowed its way through her, and her breathing became labored. What was she thinking? Why had she thought she could do it?

Alice closed her eyes, attempting to get herself under control.

Mom, I'm scared.

Her eyes were closed tightly, so she hadn't noticed when Chibi Computress finished the tutorial and disappeared. She did, however, hear her communicator chime. The email icon was flashing, alerting her that she had an email. Tapping on it, she opened the app to find a robo-email from her guide, Ben. She could tell it was a robo-email by the generic message that lied within.

**Subject Line: Welcome Aboard**

**Hey, thanks for joining! The mission is to keep Fuse's dirty claws off Plumber technology. When you're needed, I'll be sending you out on missions to stop him from getting any sort of alien tech that'll be useful to him, and hurtful to us.**

**-Ben**

Alice stared at the message for who knew how long, not really thinking, just staring, before another chime happened. She had a second email, from Ben again. There was nothing in the subject line, which had her confused.

**Subject Line: (not available)**

**Alice! You joined! I didn't think you would. You weren't answering me back, and I was getting worried. But this is great! We could honestly use all the help we can get. I didn't realize how many secret Plumber bases there really were until this all happened, and I need as much help to get these bases secured before Fuse and those lackeys of his get to them. Btw, Gramps still wants to test your powers, but last I talked to him, he was starting to get busy. But he'll still make time if you let him know in advance. And hey, since you're in the Downtown area, swing by Offworld Plaza. I'm at the hospital to keep an eye on the Space Port. Can't let Fuse's freaks get too close, ya know? Uh-oh. Vilgax is getting into an argument with one of the volunteers. I need to go deal with that. We'll talk later, k? Oh, and Alice, don't be scared. You got this!**

**-Ben**

Alice's breathing steadied, and the shaking in her hands ceased as she read his second message. Her nerves had been alleviated just slightly from his second message. Whereas his robo-email was just a simplistic "nice to meet ya, welcome to the team" type of a message, Ben's second was personal, encouraging Alice more than the other message had.

Maybe she wasn't as confident as the others about joining, but she had to at least try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for coming back to read another chapter. Alice is now officially joining, so her adventure is just around the bend.
> 
> The meeting that was held at the start of the chapter almost didn't happen. I had written it in before, with Vilgax being the one to give the information, but I didn't like it and removed it. Right as I was finishing the chapter, I went back and added it in. The best part of a crossover for me is when there are several characters crossing over, and this meeting purposely had so many people from different shows meeting to discuss the fate of their world. I changed it up from Vilgax to Ben, and having the Galactic Enforcers and Galactic Guardians be the information givers (recall that the Enforcers had sent a scrambled message in chapter two, and the Guardians had 25% of their forces missing). The information that the Glorfts had beaten back Fuse comes from level 12 mission "Hands on the Hard Drive (2 of 2)" and the Ectonurites joining up with Fuse from level 22 Ben's guide mission "Do Not Enter." Since in the game the Hero sent back messages to the past while adventuring in the future, the heroes of the past learned all the information needed about Fuse, the Fusions, Nanos, etc. Without the time travel aspect in this story, I had to work around it, and so chose to use the Plumbers' connections with the Enforcers and Guardians.
> 
> For Providence's representative, I almost went with Rex or Agent Six, but went instead for my OC Amber instead. She's going to be playing a bigger part later on in the story, so now was the best time to bring her in. The pink-haired kid volunteering at the hospital is my OC Kyra, who had appeared back in chapter one. Unlike Amber, she won't be playing a huge role, and will pop up from time to time whenever the story takes us to the hospital.
> 
> Rex and Ben knowing each other is a nod to their crossover special, Heroes United. That special did not happen, obviously, since the two properties are supposed to exist in the same universe for the game. So for this reason, Ben and Rex encountered each other when both Ben and Rex responded to an EVO attacking (Ben thought it was an alien). The two quickly became friends because of their similarities, and have been in touch.
> 
> Beasts and Barbarians is a video game from Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. I didn't want to default to Sumo Slammers just yet, but that game will make an appearance at some point since, aside from Ben, other characters play the game and make reference to it. Also, Coop's unwillingness to go to the meeting might be an idiotic choice on his part, but it's supposed to be a throwback to the official manga in which Jamie and Coop were playing a video game while Fuse's spawns were attacking. Besides, he knows Kiva's better at these sorts of things than him, so it's just easier to send her in his place.
> 
> Ed, Edd, n Eddy's depiction in the story takes place after Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show, so they're on better standing with the Cul-de-Sac kids (they still do schemes for money, but the schemes are a little more honest; Eddy and Kevin also still have their arguments, but they get over them pretty fast). Eddy's actions and behavior will change; right now he's just a scared kid because of the monsters running around, and his only response to it was to lash out. He'll get better, though, and not be so antagonistic. This was just a one time thing.
> 
> Making game mechanics work in a real world way is pretty difficult to write, but hopefully it all makes sense. Also, Computress' chibi look is supposed to be a nod to her Nano appearance in Retro.
> 
> Also, I would like to make it perfectly clear: Under no circumstances will Alice and Ben have any form of romance. Ben is in a happy relationship with Julie. He will be a mentor and big brother figure to Alice; that is it, that is all.


	4. First Day Favors

Alice glanced over the top of the wall, searching the area. She made a small noise of displeasure in her throat when she saw a mob of Ultramagno Beetles wandering around below. She had hoped the K.N.D. Training Area would be empty, but the monsters were invading the area. It wasn't all that surprising, considering that the perimeter wasn't completely closed, but it was still disappointing. Alice wanted an empty space, free of people and monsters, to try out her powers.

Alice disappeared back down on her side of the wall, pulling up the notes app in her communicator. Just before she had studied the directory of known Fusion Monsters, she had typed up everything she knew about her powers.

**Move objects**

**Energy ball**

**Protective energy sphere/ball/bubble**

**Hovering?**

It wasn't a very long list.

Alice looked over her list, frowning in thought until she felt the hair on her neck stand up. The girl whipped her head around to see an Ultramagno Beetle hanging over the wall, a hair's breadth away from her. The monster released an unearthly screech, and tried to headbutt her. Alice yelped and tumbled backward off the box crates, landing unceremoniously on the ground. The Ultramagno Beetle screeched again, beginning to crawl down the wall on its pursuit after her. Alice shifted to her knees, staring at the monster advancing on her.

_Do something, do something, do something!_

Alice raised her hand, hoping to move a wooden crate or form an energy ball in her palm to be shot out at the monster. However, nothing happened. Alice stared at her hand in shock, distressed nothing had happened. Another screech from the Ultramagno Beetle told Alice it was much closer to her, and rearing back for an attack. Alice closed her eyes, raising an arm to protect herself from the hit that was to come.

It never came.

Opening her eyes, she found that she was in an energy dome, protecting her from the monster's attack. From out of nowhere, a pair of pink laser beams hit the monster, not letting up until the creature turned into a puddle of Fusion Matter. The dome that had been protecting her disappeared, leaving Alice to stare at the puddle in a mixture of surprise and disappointment.

"You okay, Alice?"

Alice twisted her upper body around to stare at Blossom, who was hovering a foot off the ground just behind her. The Powerpuff leader touched the ground and extended a hand, helping Alice to her feet. The Puff gave the girl a quick look over for any injuries, smiling lightly when she found nothing concerning.

"What brings you over this way?" Blossom asked, jerking her head just slightly in the direction of the training ground.

"I..." Alice tried to get out, but finding the words difficult to form. "I..."

Blossom waited patiently for Alice to explain herself, but the other girl couldn't do it. Alice dropped her gaze to her shoes in shame, unable to look Blossom in the eyes. The Powerpuff smiled in understanding, and laid a hand on the other girl's shoulder.

"Practicing your powers, right?" Blossom supplied.

Alice nodded, keeping her mouth shut. She wasn't even shocked that the Powerpuff would know; she hadn't asked the Professor to keep it a secret, so of course he'd tell his daughters.

"I guess it didn't go as you expected, huh?" Blossom questioned. She knew the answer, but she wanted to get Alice talking.

Alice nodded her head again.

"I...I don't know what to do," the girl finally admitted out of distress. "I don't know how to get them to work."

Blossom hummed in thought, her pink eyes wavering over at the two Ultramagnos that were attempting to creep up on the girls. A quick use of her ice breath had the creatures encased in a pillar of ice before they could even go "Boo!" Blossom returned her attention to their conversation, not commenting on the surprised look Alice wore.

"I'm going to take a stab at this, but I'm guessing the first time you used your powers, it was just by instinct, right?" Blossom asked, her voice nothing but understanding. She continued after Alice gave a nod of confirmation. "That's understandable. When my sisters and I were created, our powers were as natural to us as breathing. And that's what's happening to you right now. Your powers are instinctual, involuntary, like when we sweat because it's too hot, or shiver when it's too cold."

Alice nodded, following along with the lesson.

"You just have to take that involuntary action and make it voluntary. You have to focus and _concentrate_ on your power," Blossom continued. "Think about what you want to use, and harness that power. If you don't, things could get out of control." Blossom's eyes drifted off in memory, an embarrassed smile flitting across her face. "Townsville sure didn't appreciate an epic game of tag by three little girls."

Alice nodded along, recollecting the time the Powerpuff Girls had a game of tag using their super speed. The result had been total devastation of Downtown Townsville. Thankfully, the girls had learned their lesson and downplayed their property damage.

"So let's practice," Blossom suggested, her eyes sweeping the grounds again because she thought she saw an Ultramagno getting close to them again. "We won't start off with an attack, but how about that dome you made. Try forming it again. Make it as big or small as you want."

Alice took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. First, she imagined the dome. She imagined its color and its shape. Then, she imagined that it was surrounding her, protecting her from the air to the grass. Then, she imagined - she _willed_ \- it into reality.

"Nicely done."

Blossom's compliment had Alice opening her eyes, just to check. Sure enough, a dome was once again surrounding Alice protectively, and her body was outlined in the same blue light as her dome. Alice kept the dome up for a second more, before willing it away.

"See, you're a natural. You just needed a push in the right direction," Blossom stated, grinning ear to ear. Her smile halted and she turned her head slightly to the right, as if she was listening for something far away.

"Is everything alright?" Alice asked after a moment, when Blossom's attention continued to be put elsewhere.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, no worries," Blossom reassured the girl, flashing a grin at her. "Someone's just looking for me at the treehouse."

Alice blinked twice and looked over the red-head leader's shoulder. "The treehouse?"

The treehouse belonged to the Kids Next Door, and it was hard to miss. To keep the base safe, Sector V worked with DexLabs and Mandark Ind. to create anti-gravity technology that lifted up the treehouse from ground, well out of range from the Fusion Monsters on the ground. The only thing keeping it from floating off into the stratosphere was metal chains anchoring the island to the ground.

"Yeah, Dexter's sending kids this way to search for Major Glory," Blossom answered. "He was last seen at Pokey Oaks Junior High before..." Blossom paused, glancing worriedly in Alice's direction. Seeing the way the girl's skin began to lose color, Blossom hurried on, "Anyways, his last known appearance was somewhere out here in the Suburbs. I'm sending the kids out to look for any sign of him."

"Has anything been found?" Alice asked.

"Nothing yet, but we'll find him," the Powerpuff leader answered. Her eyes shifted, looking off towards the mountains. Alice followed that line of sight, and above the houses, Alice could make out holograms peeking up above the rooftops. Buttercup's hologram, in particular, looked like it was staring at them. "We'll find all our missing heroes."

"Do...Do you think she's still out there?" Alice asked cautiously, understanding that this was a touchy subject.

"I have hope," Blossom answered, her tone confident. "Buttercup is a fighter. She's somewhere out in the world; I just have to find her."

Alice dropped her gaze away from the hologram; the longer she looked at Buttercup's image, the more ashamed she felt. When the search had been called off, Alice had been among the many that believed Buttercup was gone for good. Alice believed all the heroes that were missing could not be found. When did she lose hope?

Blossom shook herself from her thoughts, mentally scolding herself for letting her thoughts wander. Turning to look back at Alice, the Powerpuff spotted a small Ultramagno attempting to sneak up on the two of them. A blast from her eye beams left a gooey mess behind. The attack shook Alice from her thoughts, turning her head to look at the spot where the monster had been.

"They're especially active today," Blossom commented lightly. "Hey, would you mind doing me a favor? I planned to have a picnic with the Professor today, but he hasn't shown up, and I can't get in touch with him. Would you be willing to go and get him?"

"Okay," Alice agreed with a nod.

"Thanks! He mentioned this morning that he was going to Genius Grove, so he may still be down that way," Blossom explained. "Check DeeDee's house first."

Alice frowned. She remembered DeeDee had given her the address, but she hadn't looked at it since the day of her mother's funeral, so she didn't have a clue where in Genius Grove DeeDee resided.

Luckily, Blossom picked up on Alice's confusion and clarified further, "It's across the street from Mandark's old house. You know, the giant eyesore." Alice's confusion cleared, and she nodded. "Thanks! It really means a lot to me. Give me a call if there's any problems."

Alice nodded her head in agreement once more, and then left the training area. Blossom followed Alice's movements until the other girl was out of immediate sight, and then shifted her gaze back inward toward the KND Training Area. Two Ultramagno Beetles that had been skirting around the area suddenly lost interest and turned away, wandering over to a group of its kind further away. Blossom frowned in confusion at their odd behavior, but kids were waiting for her at the treehouse, so she filed away the monsters' behavior for later and took to the sky.

* * *

It was easy to find DeeDee's house. Since Mandark had a not-so-secret laboratory behind his former house that was as tall as the mountains, it could be seen anywhere in Genius Grove (even when inside the containment field). All Alice had to do was head in the direction of the black and red building, which was actually close to the line that separated Pokey Oaks South from Genius Grove. Even from the corner, Alice could tell that DeeDee's house was different from the many cookie-cutter homes that existed throughout the Suburbs. It was pink, and had rainbows, Pony Puff Princess from the wildly popular _Pony Puff Princess_ cartoon, and a simplistic portrait of DeeDee herself painted over it.

Out on the front lawn of the home was the man she was looking for, holding a conversation with the owner of the house and Numbuh Five. DeeDee was the first person to spot her as Alice approached the residence.

"Alice!" the ballerina enthusiast greeted the girl, waving a hand wildly in the air to catch her attention.

"Oh, hello Alice," Professor Utonium greeted, looking frazzled. "What brings you to Genius Grove?"

"Hello," Alice said as a greeting to all three, getting a tip of the hat nod from Numbuh Five in return. "Blossom sent me to see you, Professor. She set up a picnic, but she couldn't get in contact with you."

The Professor's eyes widened in realization and slapped his palm to his forehead.

"Oh no, did that already happen!?" the man questioned. "I didn't think that much time had passed. She must think I skipped it."

Alice frowned, noticing that the Professor's normally nice lab coat had some tears and spots of dirt scattered along the coat. His usual neatly combed hair had loose strands and looked a mess.

"Professor, did something happen?" Alice asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," the Professor answered. "My lab was attacked by Gravel Golems, and those ruffians destroyed my communications equipment. I was already coming out this way to check on the house, so I went into Dexter's old lab to see if it might have something, but none of the wires are quite right."

"Maybe the Gravel Golems still have it," DeeDee suggested. "You could always try getting it back from them."

"I haven't participated in a fight in years," the Professor lamented. His eyes brightened for a moment as an idea popped into his head. He turned to the kid of the group. "Numbuh Five, maybe you-"

"Sorry, but Numbuh Five can't," Numbuh Five interrupted, holding up a hand to stop the man's request. "Numbuh Five was tasked here to make sure those nasty creatures can't get into the lab and get their claws on some fancy tech." The kid operative glanced over at Alice, noticing the communicator resting at Alice's waist. "Say Alice, is that your communicator?"

Alice startled at being addressed, but nodded, glancing self-consciously at her communicator. DeeDee and the Professor looked at the device too, noticing that it wasn't the standard white. The Professor's eyes doubled in size, surprised to see that Alice was in the possession of the new communicator.

"You joined?" the Professor asked.

Alice nodded, continuing to feel self-conscious. She hadn't exactly told anyone about her decision.

"Oh! This could work out in your favor, Professor," DeeDee stated. She hopped over to Alice's side, invading the girl's personal bubble. "Alice, do you think you could get the Professor's wires from those mean Golems?"

Alice tensed at the request. She hadn't been able to use her offensive attack back at the training grounds, but Blossom's lessons had enabled her to create that energy dome. All she had to do was apply that same method onto her offensive attacks, and it should work. At least in theory. She only had one way to find out.

"Yes," Alice answered, nodding her head in agreement.

"You're sure?" the adult questioned, eyeing her curiously.

Alice nodded.

"Okay then," the Professor said, his face morphing into relief. "They're in Pokey Oaks South. You'll need to recover three wiring fragments in order for my device to work. Bring them back when you have them."

* * *

Alice had consulted the Fusion Monster directory as she travelled through Pokey Oaks South, identifying what the Golems looked like and the area they typically frequented, which was the southeast corner of Pokey Oaks South. The Gravel Golems, taller than her by a whole other body, wandered around the houses, looking to have no real aim than to cause mayhem and damage property. Alice didn't feel confident taking on a mob, so she waited for her opportunity to take on just one. She was in luck when a lone Golem wandered close to her hiding spot.

Alice closed her eyes and concentrated on calming her nerves. She couldn't let her nerves fail her now, not when she had accepted the task. She had to do this. She had to learn to use and control her powers. Taking in a deep breath, she moved from behind her hiding spot and faced the Gravel Golem head on, her hand raised up and aimed at the monster. The Gravel Golem had only a second to release a furious roar, but Alice concentrated hard on forming an energy ball in her palm. She successfully formed the energy ball and fired it at the monster, hitting it in what Alice assumed was its gut. The monster stumbled from the hit, catching itself before it could fall. Alice didn't hesitate, and fired off three more energy balls. All successfully connected with the Fusion Monster, and it dissolved into Fusion Matter, which was then collected by Alice's communicator.

The girl frowned in disappointment that the felled Gravel Golem didn't have the items she needed. She surveyed her area once more to see where the next Golem was, but was struck from behind, sending her falling forward. Rolling onto her back, she caught sight of the Golem's fist descending on her. She rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging the hit. She moved to her knees, trying to get her footing again, but the monster had recovered faster. It swung at her, scraping her arm as she dropped back to the ground. Alice rolled onto her back and created a dome to cover her, forming it fast enough to block the hit the Golem aimed at her. The Golem roared in anger and began pounding on the dome, attempting to break it. Keeping the energy dome in place, Alice forced it to expand, pushing the Golem back.

While the monster continued to attack the dome, Alice glanced down quickly at her arm, to check on it. Despite the monster striking her, her sleeve didn't have a tear in it. Her choice in clothing was pretty pedestrian compared to the armor that the K.N.D., Dexbots, Mandroids, and more were selling, but DexLabs' nanite technology could be used to coat any piece of clothing. These nanites were a substitution to armor, protecting the wearer from hits and scrapes. It had taken up almost two months of her allowance, but given how her sleeve held against the attack, she considered it money well spent.

She did a fast survey of her surroundings, and found a rock just several feet away. She started to lift it, but stopped when a hit from the Fusion Monster weakened her shield. She focused back on her shield, keeping it strong. Throwing an object from the safety of her dome hadn't worked out as planned, so she needed to do something new. Thinking fast, Alice pushed her shield back further, sending the monster tumbling back. She then dropped her shield and thrust her hand in an arc sweep, sending the rock she had been trying to lift before at the monster's head. It made contact with the monster, but didn't seem to hurt it. It just made it angry. Panicking, Alice got to her feet and moved backward, looking for another item to throw at it. A park table and attached benches were close by. Forcing herself to concentrate, she lifted and threw the entire table on the creature. Thanks to its weight, the monster was dropped to the ground, giving Alice an opening. Instead of sending out energy balls, Alice tried another technique. Focusing, she sent an energy beam at the monster, not letting up until it dissolved into Fusion Matter that her communicator collected.

Her adrenaline running in her veins, and her heartbeat pounding in her eats, Alice walked over to the broken park table and looked under it, finding a wiring fragment. She couldn't help smiling in relief, but was disappointed to see that it was just the one, not three. She'd have to take down more of the monsters to get the other two.

* * *

Five Gravel Golems later, Alice was reentering Genius Grove with the Professor's three wiring fragments being kept in her communicator. Approaching DeeDee's house, Alice found that only Numbuh Five was out in the yard; Professor Utonium and DeeDee were missing.

"Hey Alice," Numbuh Five greeted. "Back already?"

Alice nodded her head.

"Is the Professor still here?" she asked.

"He left about ten minutes ago," Numbuh Five answered. "He went back to his house. Asked Numbuh Five to let you know when you showed up since he doesn't have any form of communication."

Alice nodded in understanding. "Okay. Thank you."

She turned to leave, but Numbuh Five stopped her. "You doing okay?" The K.N.D. operative tilted her red cap up, inspecting the blue haired girl. "You look pale."

"I'm just a little exhausted from fighting the Gravel Golems," Alice answered, not elaborating that she was exhausted from fighting the monsters because she had used her powers. After yesterday's outburst from Eddy, she was cautious on revealing her actual heritage.

"You going to be alright?" the operative asked.

"I'll be okay," Alice answered, attempting to reassure the other girl's concerns. "I have to get going. The Professor needs the fragments."

Numbuh Five frowned, but nodded. "Right. See ya later."

The Utoniums' house wasn't very far from DeeDee's house, so it didn't take Alice long to arrive. The house's lower level windows were broken, probably from the Fusions that broke in. The door, on the other hand, was still intact. As Alice was walking up to the door, it opened suddenly, and the Professor exited, wearing a new coat. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw her.

"Oh, Alice!" the Professor greeted with a relieved smile on his face. He examined her, looking for any sort of scratch she might have received. "Are you doing alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay," Alice answered as she pulled out the wiring fragments from her communicator. She handed them to him. "The Gravel Golems had them."

The Professor's eyes widened in surprise, taking them out of her hand and pocketing them. "You managed to get these from them? Did you use your...?"

Alice nodded, watching as his eyes brightened in scientific enthusiasm.

"That's incredible! What do you have? How do they work? How powerful would you say they are?" the Professor asked, moving through his questions rapidly.

"I think you should call Blossom, Professor," Alice reminded him, instead of answering his question.

"Oh, yes, of course," the Professor replied, flushing in embarrassment for getting carried away. He turned as if to go back in the house, but paused in thought. He then spun around so he was facing Alice again. "Actually, could I ask for another favor?"

"More items were stolen?" Alice asked, assuming he needed her to fight more Fusions.

"Nothing like that. Although a few of my inventions were wrecked," the Professor replied. "No, I was wondering if you'd escort me to Sector V? I don't have anything to fight off the Fusions if I were to get cornered by them, so it'd be safer if you would walk with me. Would you mind?"

"I don't mind," Alice answered.

"Thank you," the Professor said to her, beginning to walk away from the house. "If my Powerprof. Suit wasn't destroyed, I would have equipped it and those Fusions wouldn't be a problem, but those Golems wrecked it when they raided the house. I'll start fixing it back up when I get back from the picnic." He released a sigh. "I have a few things I have to fix thanks to them."

Alice didn't comment on his statement, primarily because she didn't know what he'd have to fix. Aside from the suit and communication equipment, she didn't know what else the Golems had wrecked, but they were probably important. Weird that the Fusions knew what to destroy.

"Sooo," the Professor began, trying to establish small talk. "Does your aunt know about this?"

Alice didn't need clarification on what he was referring to, but she also didn't want to say the answer out loud because it felt like a betrayal of her family. So, instead of answering, she continued to remain silent, keeping her eyes straight ahead. The Professor nodded knowingly.

"I understand," he said.

"Do you think I made a bad choice?" Alice asked, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Do you?" the Professor questioned back.

"I don't know," the girl answered after a moment of silence, dropping her eyes to her feet. "I don't know how I feel."

"I can't answer that," the Professor advised her, falling into his dad role with ease. "This was a choice you made, and only you can decide if you feel you made the right choice or not." He reached out a placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But for whatever it's worth, you have my total support."

Alice smiled lightly. She didn't get the answer she was looking for, but it sounded like something her mother would say, so that made her feel just a tad better about her decision.

"And I won't tell your aunt," the Professor continued, removing his hand from the pre-teen's shoulder. "That's something for you to do when you're ready."

"Thank you," the girl said.

The two fell into a comfortable silence for only a few seconds before the Professor asked, "Sooo, what can you do?"

* * *

The walk over from Pokey Oaks South to Sector V consisted, primarily, of what Alice's powers entailed. She answered his questions to the best of her ability, since she still didn't know how much she could do. She did give him a demonstration on her powers, since she had to use them a few times on the trip. She made a shield for the Professor when a Pesky Pony made a swipe for the man's head, and had to blast away a couple Ball-Peen Meanies that got close. For a man who had created three superpowered little girls, the Professor seemed enthusiastic to see her powers in action. She chalked it up to him being a scientist.

Once they stepped within Sector V's boundaries, Alice had sent out a message to Blossom on behalf of the Professor, letting her know to meet him at the picnic site. As they passed the treehouse, Alice noticed movement going on down underneath the floating island. She looked, but didn't see any Fusion Monsters gearing up to attack them, so she brushed it from her mind and focused on protecting the Professor.

"I can continue on my own from here," the Professor stated once the two of them were only a block away from the picnic area.

"Will you be okay?" Alice asked, warily eyeing the Caterplugs that slithered along the ground. They weren't clumped together in groups like other monsters, but the Professor was unarmed and wouldn't be able to fight off even one of them.

"Of course. It's only a few steps away," he reassured her. "Besides, there aren't many Caterplugs around, so I'll sneak around them. I can probably out run them."

Alice frowned in worry, not entirely trusting his plan, but she spotted the red hair of the Powerpuff's leader. Instantly, her worry went away. Even if the Professor was to get into trouble, Blossom was within the vicinity to save him. She wasn't needed anymore.

"Okay," Alice said. "Goodbye, Professor."

"Goodbye, Alice," the Professor returned, waving his hand. "Thank you for helping my daughter and me."

Alice gave the Professor a brief wave in goodbye, watching him make his way to the picnic site. When he drew closer to where Blossom was waiting, Alice turned and headed further into Sector V. With nothing to do and no favors to fulfill, she found herself passing the treehouse on her way to Heroes Square, the life-like holograms of missing heroes beckoning her to them like light beckons moths.

As she passed the floating island, that same movement from before caught her attention. She looked, but instead of finding nothing, she found a small shape sitting at the base of the chains that kept the floating island occupied by Sector V's treehouse in one place. Bending down, Alice was able to get a better look. It was a round shape, almost looking like a bomb, and a strange face was painted on it. It wasn't making any noise, and didn't seem to be breathing, further confusing Alice on what it could be. Was this from the Kids Next Door? Was this from a Fusion? Out of curiosity, the girl reached out to see what material it was made of.

"Don't touch that!" a voice warned from the left of Alice.

Alice retracted her hand instantly and brought it to her chest. Turning, she watched a young pink pig-tailed haired girl run toward her. In the other girl's hand was a small pistol weapon, shaped like a hair dryer. The girl raised up her weapon and fired off a shot at the bomb with the face paint, dissolving it into Fusion Matter in one shot.

"Did you happen to see the Soulo that dropped this?" the girl asked.

"Soulo?" Alice parroted, rising from her crouched position.

"So you didn't see it," the girl replied, a disappointed frown settling on her face. "Darn."

"Yoo-hoo! Cherry! I got another Soulo Shell!" an exuberant voice called from behind the girl.

The girl, Cherry, turned to the new voice, and Alice looked to see who was calling as well. The girl looked to be only a year older than Alice, and she had the exact same shade of pink hair as Cherry did. Some of the girl's hair was pulled into a braid, and her stray cowlick flicked back and forth as she ran over to the two girls. She carried a book in her hand, which was surprising. Although DexLabs (and Mandark Ind, sorta) was making leaps and bounds in technological advancements in a short time, almost everything was turning digital. Books were still in circulation, but not to the same extent they had been ten years ago. Was the girl using it as a weapon?

The newcomer paused as she got nearer, glancing at Alice in curiosity. Alice shrunk under the gaze.

"Oh hey, I've never met you before," the newcomer commented. "Did you already make a new friend, Cherry?"

"We just met," Cherry retaliated. "I was busy stopping her from touching a Soulo Shell to ask for her name."

"Cherry, what have we talked about? You can't just go up to random people without introducing yourself!" the older girl scolded, wagging her finger in Cherry's direction. Cherry swatted the finger aside, her freckled cheeks turning a soft shade of pink in embarrassment. The older girl twirled around so that she was facing Alice, a gloved hand outstretched toward Alice. "Hi! Please accept my apology on behalf of my sister's rudeness. My name's Peach Blossom, and this is my sister, Cherry Blossom."

"Our parents are botanists," Cherry added in, like she felt the need to explain the origin of their names. "They took one look at our hair color and thought it would be fun to name us after flowers."

"Who might you be?" Peach asked, her hand falling back to her side when Alice didn't reach out and shake it.

"Alice Spacebyte," Alice answered.

Cherry frowned momentarily, her brows creasing together like she was trying to remember where she'd heard that name, but Peach didn't miss a beat.

"Were you sent here by Numbuh Two to help catch that nasty Soulo?" the older girl inquired. "If we don't catch that thing, we can't stop it from dropping its Soulo Shells. And if those things go off, the treehouse will probably float up into the sun."

"That's not going to happen," Cherry corrected.

"Of course not! That's why we're here!" Peach cheered, pumping a fist up into the air.

"No, I don't mean just that! The treehouse _wouldn't_ go floating off into the sun," the younger sister argued.

"That's what we're trying to stop," the older sister reasoned.

Whilst Cherry and Peach bickered back and forth, Alice caught something moving in her peripheral vision. She looked over her shoulder, to see what it was. Moving up the hill toward the chain was a Fusion Monster that Alice remembered seeing in the Fusion Monster directory, but she couldn't remember its name. However, given that it was headed for the chains that kept the treehouse tethered down, Alice assumed this was the Soulo that the two sisters were talking about.

"Is that the thing?" Alice broke in, cutting through the sisters' bickering.

The girls looked in the direction Alice was pointing, and spotted the Fusion Monster on its way to the chains.

"Yep," Peach chirped, raising her book up.

"Do you know a containment spell?" Cherry asked her sister.

"Unfortunately, this book doesn't have it," Peach answered, her face morphing from cheerful to serious. "But it's got some offense spells."

"Fine, that'll have to do. Let's get it!" Cherry declared, raising her pistol-type weapon and charging at the Soulo.

Her sister followed after, the book in her hands glowing brightly. The sight was strange to Alice, especially the fact that they casually mentioned spells. Then again, she had two classmates who knew and could even control the Grim Reaper, so perhaps she shouldn't be so surprised by the casual mention of magic. Regardless, something Cherry said had Alice focused entirely on it. A containment spell would probably work a whole lot like her energy dome, right?

Keeping her sight focused on the Soulo, she raised both hands and directed her palms in the monster's direction. A moment later, the Soulo was encased in an energy bubble. The monster hit the side of the bubble, surprised by its sudden appearance. It roared out in fury and knocked into the bubble again, attempting to break it. The bubble held strong, and only forced the Fusion Monster back. Putting her complete and total focus on the bubble, Alice began to shrink its size. The bubble kept getting smaller and smaller, and it started squishing the Soulo. It continued to shrink, despite the monster's efforts to escape its prison, until the monster popped and became Fusion Matter. The energy bubble disappeared, and the liquid matter was sucked up into Alice's communicator.

Alice fell to her knees, drawing in deep breaths. The effort to keep the bubble from breaking and to shrink its size had been taxing on her, not to mention her use of her powers over the course of the day. She probably couldn't make an energy ball or dome even if she really wanted to.

Two shadows descended on her, and a quick glance up revealed them to be the Blossom sisters leaning over her, both looking concerned.

"Are you good?" Cherry asked when the two made eye contact.

Alice nodded. "I just need to catch my breath."

"That was incredible! I didn't know you can do spells, too," Peach gushed, her concern turning into admiration now that she knew Alice would be okay. "Do you go to Toadblatt's? I haven't seen you in any of my classes, but you look a year younger than me, so that's probably it. Though with your skills, I'd totally expect you to be in Gunderstank with me, so I can't believe I haven't seen you in the common area."

"Toadblatt's?" Alice asked in confusion.

"Toadblatt's School of Sorcery," Peach explained, puffing out her chest proudly. "It used to be a summer school, but recently went into full term since Dean Toadblatt left. I'm in Gunderstank House." Peach pumped her fist into the air. "Go Gunderstank!"

Alice blinked in confusion, mildly surprised by the cheer Peach gave at the end. Cherry crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at her sister's antics. She was used to the older girl's antics, but it was embarrassing to have her sister acting out in public.

"She's a witch," Cherry explained to the confused girl, pointedly ignoring Peach's offended "Sorceress!" claim. "She can perform magic, but she's still a beginner, so she needs to carry around that spellbook."

"Your containment spell was amazing! Do you think you could teach me?" Peach asked. "None of my classes have discussed the subject, which is a real bummer considering all the good it could do."

"No," Alice answered. When she saw how fast Peach's face fell, she hurriedly explained. "It wasn't a spell. I don't know spells. I'm not a magic person."

"Oh. So you're an E.V.O. then?" Cherry asked, sounding more curious than judgmental.

Alice shook her head, diverting her eyes to her feet. She picked at the end of her bolero shrug's sleeve to ease her nerves. Peach and Cherry shared a look of confusion, concerned that maybe they had pushed too much. Peach reached out and put a hand on Alice's shoulder, giving it a gentle pat in comfort.

"Hey, it's okay. If you don't want to say, you don't need to," she assured the girl, smiling brightly. "You were a big help today, so I just want to say thanks."

"We've been after that Soulo all morning. If you hadn't stopped by, we would probably still be after it," Cherry added in. "You did us a huge favor by taking that thing out."

"It's alright," Alice replied. "I don't mind helping."

She had said it without really thinking, but she found that she meant it. Helping out had just been an instinctual action.

"We could use that attitude finding those missing heroes," Peach stated sagely, nodding her head in the direction of Heroes Square. Her eyes suddenly lit up like a light bulb. "Hey! Why don't we trade contacts? That way we can be in touch and totally help each other out later on."

The younger sister nodded along with the idea, finding nothing wrong with it. Alice wasn't too enthused by the suggestion, but she kept that to herself and traded her communicator with Peach. Peach's communicator was blue, the color for Dexter. Her statement on finding missing heroes made more sense. Cherry's communicator, on the other hand, was yellow, the color for Double D.

"I'm putting my friends' numbers in your list, too," Cherry said. "They're good friends of mine, and I'll give them your number later. If you need any help with anything, you can rely on them." She handed back Alice's communicator. "They would have been here to help, but they're filming for a web show in Prickly Pines right now. I'm supposed to be meeting them over there to help."

"We'd better go," Peach pointed out, shielding her eyes as she looked up at the sun. "Based on the position of the sun, I'm guessing it's getting close to noon. We promised we'd be up there before two."

"We'll stop somewhere and grab food. We could have a nice lunch out in the forest," Cherry suggested, getting a nod of agreement from her sister. "Talk to you later, Alice."

"See ya next time, Alice!" Peach said, walking down the street with her sister at her side. "Keep up the good work!"

Alice waved goodbye at them, dropping her arm when they could no longer see her. Left alone, and no longer detoured by the Soulo Shells, Alice continued to her previous destination: Heroes Square.

* * *

Once just a regular, unassuming open spot for families to picnic and hold community events, the place now housed a monument meant to pay respects to fallen or missing heroes. It was built just after Buttercup's disappearance, and for a while, only her hologram (courtesy of DexLabs) was at the monument, which is when it used to be called Hero Square. Now it was Heroes Square because more missing heroes occupied the space: Major Glory, Supercow, Monkey, and Captain Melonhead and his sidekick Splinter.

Alice sat cross-legged at the base of the monument, having been there for hours. She could have probably done something more productive, maybe see if someone else needed help, or check her emails to see if Ben was going to send her somewhere, but she didn't do any of that. She felt compelled to be with the holograms.

Inches from her were offerings of flowers, candles, and cards all scattered and addressed to the five different heroes. A large, white banner that read "MISSING BUT NOT FORGOTTEN! WE WILL FIND YOU!" in blue text was hung up above the offerings. Various names were scribbled all over the banner, and Alice recognized that a few were fellow students of Pokey Oaks Junior High, but she couldn't picture faces to the names.

She'd been to Heroes Square twice, back when it was only known as Hero Square. Once was when it was in the middle of being built. Her mother had brought her along so they could watch the Dexbots and construction workers build the monument. The second time had been when it was finished, and a ceremony for the fallen hero had been held. Once again, her mother brought her. Her mother had brought a bouquet of white lilies, rosemary, and aspen, and Alice had brought a green apple flavored candle. Both visits had made her uneasy.

Now, sitting at its base, Alice could identify what that uneasiness really was: guilt. Unlike Blossom, or Dexter, or Double D, or her mother when she had been alive, she had given up hope. She didn't like it. She didn't like feeling this aching sense of hopelessness. It wasn't fair to everyone who loved these heroes for her to just give up on them. It wasn't fair to the heroes themselves who protected the weak and offered assistance to those in need for her to just abandon all thoughts that they could be alive. She didn't like the awful feeling it produced in the pit of her stomach; she wanted to make things right.

"Wherever you are, I hope you're alright," she prayed, closing her eyes and dropping her head. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for thinking none of you could be found. I'm sorry for losing hope. I'm sorry for giving up. Opening her eyes from her prayer, Alice lifted her head and stared at the holograms. "I hope we find you. All of you," she continued. "The Earth is in trouble, and we need you."

She prayed that they would be found. These heroes were needed, now more than ever, to help the Earth repel the forces of Planet Fusion. In the meantime, she would do whatever she could to help lessen the burden. That would be a good way to honor them.

It was the least she could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for coming back! I meant to have this chapter posted back in May, but time got away with me. My goal is to try a chapter a month (if I'm lucky, maybe two a month).
> 
> As you can see, some of Alice's favors are based on actual missions from the game. The two favors Alice does at the beginning are based on the two missions: "Blossom's Picnic Panic (Part 2 of 4)" and "Blossom's Picnic Panic (Part 3 of 4)." I almost used Part 4 of the saga, but didn't want to just yet, since it required Alice to go into an Infected Zone, and she can't do that just yet. Her encounter with the Soulo is based on the (infamous) mission "Sector Defense," which was Nano Numbuh Two's mission after the Academy update.
> 
> DeeDee's house is based on the design that was planned for FusionFall: Legacy (as you're all aware by now, FFL has been shut down). I liked the idea that once her parents moved in with Dexter, she'd color her house to better express her nature.
> 
> Cherry and Peach are a mix of canon and my own headcanon. In the video "FusionFall Legacy Intro," the character creation set up was shown, and in it was a pink haired girl created for the video. Later, in Picture of the Day's Season 3, that same girl was used. I didn't want to keep referring to her as pink haired girl, so I named her Cherry Blossom. The two friends she was talking about were Pic of the Day hosts Allison and Prince King Morbucks (the latter of whom was a banker in the game). I loved the Pic of the Day trio so much, so I wanted to include them in the story. As for Peach, she's the magical girl, the one holding the spellbook, that was in some FusionFall promotional art. She was never in the game proper, but I always liked her hair design and the fact that she was implying we could do magic, so I decided to bring her in and make her Cherry's sister, giving her the name Peach. Their names and status as siblings (as well as Peach going to Toadblatt's) was not canon to FusionFall, FusionFall Retro, or FusionFall Legacy. That is all unique to this story.
> 
> Speaking of Toadblatt's, in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, the school is referred to as Toadblatt's Summer School of Sorcery and is a summer school only thing. However, in the schools last appearance, the Headmaster Toadblatt left to marry Squidhat, so for this story, a new headmaster took over and changed it from operating only in the summer to operating like a normal school year. Gunderstank House is a parody of Harry Potter's Gryffindor House.
> 
> At some point in its time, the space in the top left corner of Sector V has been referred to as Hero Square and Heroes Square, so I decided to use both and explain its evolution from one name to the other. From here on out, it's only ever going to be referred to as Heroes Square. The holograms of the missing heroes is the same from FusionFall Legacy. That doesn't mean these five are the only heroes missing, it's just the first that the Suburbs considered to be the most important to show. More references to missing heroes (and people) will be shown as the story progresses.
> 
> Once again, thank you all for reading this story. I hope you come back for the next chapter!


	5. Stepping Up to Locking Down

"Thanks for your help, Alice. Are you sure you don't want your payment?"

Alice shook her head.

"I'm okay," she replied.

Frankie Foster frowned, but she shrugged in response and just pocketed the taros again.

"Well, thanks again," Frankie said. "Eduardo's been missing his Beanie Baggies and hasn't stopped crying since he lost them. He'll be so happy to have them back."

Alice smiled faintly. Aside from Wilt, she didn't know any of the Imaginary Friends that lived in Foster's Home, but she had briefly met Eduardo when she came to speak with Frankie. The purple Friend had been outside with Frankie, crying about his lost toys. The Imaginary Friend wasn't with them, and Alice had to guess it was because he was coaxed to go back inside where it was safer.

"Say, you live in the Peach Creek Commons area, right?" Frankie asked. Alice nodded, so the caretaker continued, "Would you be willing to do me a favor? Wilt asked for some toothpaste, and since he's over in that weird cardboard fortress, I was hoping you'd swing by and deliver it." She produced the tube of toothpaste from her sweater's pocket, showing Alice the item. "Of course, you don't have to. I can put this up on Help Wanted if you're busy."

Alice shook her head. "It's fine. I can drop it off."

"You're sure?" Frankie asked hopefully.

"I'm free for the day."

The woman flashed a brilliant smile at Alice, a look of relief settling in her eyes.

"Thank you so much," she said in gratitude, handing over the toothpaste. Alice took the item and placed it in her communicator. "You're a lifesaver."

" _Miss Frances!_ " a voice bellowed over the loudspeaker.

Alice jumped in surprise, startled by the sudden call. Frankie frowned at the loudspeaker in irritation, running a hand down her face with an aggravated sigh. Turning back to Alice, her irritated look evaporated into a smile.

"Sorry, but duty calls. Thanks for your help," she said to the pre-teen, already taking a step in the house's direction. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Alice smiled meekly, responding with an equally meek, "I'll try."

As Alice was leaving Foster's property and stepping onto Wilson Way, her communicator let out three beeps. It was notifying her that the job she had performed was ticked off as complete.

Recently, DexLabs rolled out a new app referred to as The Board that had been updated automatically onto every communicator. It was designed and run by Douglas, Dexter's best friend and one of the few humans who worked at the advanced technology company. It operated like a forum does on the internet, and was broken up into three categories: Help Wanted, Conversation Section, and Leaderboard.

Help Wanted was where the volunteers could pick up jobs from various heroes, villains and civilians; even the guides posted on there, though not for anything related to their ultimate goal. The jobs varied in what was required, like if a volunteer needed to retrieve an item or take out a certain number of monsters. The way it worked was that the person would post the job and a volunteer would claim it. Once it was claimed, it disappeared, and details were emailed to the communicator. If the volunteer decided to quit on the job for whatever reason, the job would go right back up to be taken on once more. Conversation Section was where the volunteers could make threads about whatever topic they wanted, so long as it followed the application's rules (Dexbots kept a special eye on this area, ensuring conversations were user friendly). Leaderboard was a scoreboard, keeping track of how many Fusion Monsters a volunteer killed. Because The Board had complete access to all data on the communicators, Leaderboard had immediate access to the number, keeping it 100% accurate.

Alice didn't rely on Conversation Section or Leaderboard; she never even bothered to check what was going on in either of them. Instead, she used the app exclusively for the Help Wanted area. She avoided taking on any job from the villains, and limited herself to the Suburbs. The jobs she picked from varied in difficulty, but none had been too difficult for her.

The two Rangers at the fortress' entrance gave her a nod in greeting, having already memorized her face as a friendly guest. After the Kanker Sisters (minus one sister) tried sneaking into the Cul-de-Sac with a giant hamburger, Eddy demanded higher security from the Rangers to ensure that any enemy of the crown (i.e., the Fusions and the Kankers) wouldn't be allowed in.

"Hello, Alice!" Wilt greeted as soon as she passed by the Plank inspired wooden doors. His giant smile was on his face, and his only good hand waved at her in greeting.

Wilt liked to spend his days at the entrance of the fortress, acting as the personal greeter to everyone who entered the space. Not too far from the Imaginary Friend was Ranger Joey, who was stationed there as extra security in case a Fusion ever did manage to sneak in (and, in his own words, he wanted to create as much distance between him and Eddy as possible).

"Hi, Wilt," Alice greeted, giving him a small smile. She tapped on her communicator, pulling out the toothpaste tube. "Frankie sent this."

"Oh how wonderful!" Wilt declared, taking the toothpaste tube from her. "Thank you so much. Sorry if it was any trouble."

"You asked for toothpaste?" Ranger Joey asked, wandering over since he found their conversation more exciting than just standing on the front lawn flipping his coin.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't any regular toothpaste. This is imaginary toothpaste," Wilt explained. "This will reinforce the walls."

Ranger Joey and Alice, in unison, looked at the toothpaste in confusion.

"The...toothpaste?" the Urban Ranger questioned skeptically, outwardly voicing Alice's thoughts. "Wouldn't duct tape or glue work better?"

"Double D tried all of that," Wilt answered, "but none of them worked. Fusion Matter kept damaging the walls. This toothpaste should do the trick. If it's alright, I'll show you."

Squeezing out a small portion onto his palm, he walked over to the wall closest to him and smoothed the toothpaste over the surface of cardboard boxes. Once finished applying the cream, he stepped back.

"Okay, it should be settled," he said. He swept his long arm in the wall's direction. "Come and feel."

Ranger Joey approached the wall and touched the spot Wilt had been working at, giving it a slight push. He was surprised to find that the boxes stayed intact, and even felt stronger.

"No way," Ranger Joey said, his eyes doubling in size. "It actually _works?_ "

"Of course," Wilt said. "I'm sorry, but I wouldn't have asked for it to be delivered if I didn't think it'd work."

"But it's toothpaste _,_ " Ranger Joey argued, looking between the wall and Wilt in disbelief. "It's supposed to clean teeth, not hold up walls."

"Imaginary toothpaste works different from store bought toothpaste," Wilt answered.

"But it's _toothpaste_."

Alice watched the exchange continue until she heard her communicator chime, alerting the girl that she had received an email. The name briefly flashed on the communicator's lock screen, and it wasn't a name she recognized. Instead of removing the email, she opened it to see why Jimmy Jones was contacting her.

**Subject Line: Plumber Base in Peach Creek Estates**

**Morning! Mr. Tennyson needs you to lock down the local Plumber base that's hidden over in Peach Creek Estates. Fusion activity has been spiking in the area, and Mr. Tennyson wants to keep them out. But the base has a high-frequency sonic security system, so you're going to need special earplugs, which are called Sonic Earplugs. Talk to Numbuh Two about them.**

**-Jimmy Jones**

Alice's breath hitched as she finished the email. She wasn't entirely sure who he was referring to as "Mr. Tennyson," but made a guess that it was Ben, since he was working to lock up Plumber bases. This made it her first job for her guide.

A red blur in front of her spooked her from her thoughts, and she glanced up sharply, finding that the red blur was Wilt's hand moving up and down in front of her face. Her startled eyes met his concerned eye.

"I'm sorry, but are you feeling well?" Wilt asked, stopping his hand when he got her attention. "You seemed to have gone pale."

"Bad news?" Ranger Joey questioned, nodding his head at her communicator.

"I'm okay," Alice answered, pocketing her device. "It was a job from Ben."

"Right, he's your guide," the Urban Ranger said. "I keep forgetting you work for him since you're around the Cul-de-Sac so much. I thought you were one of Double D's."

"I'm sorry if this is prying, but what is he having you do?" the Imaginary Friend asked. "You don't look very enthusiastic."

"Lock down a Plumber base in Peach Creek Estates," Alice answered. "But I have to speak to Numbuh Two first since he knows where some Sonic Earplugs are." At the confused looks on both her audience's faces, she clarified further, "It's a special set of earplugs."

"Peach Creek Estates? You better watch yourself," Ranger Joey warned. "Father's kids, the Delightful Children from Down the Lane, have been lurking around that place since his housing development was turned into an Infected Zone."

"Why would they be a problem?" Wilt asked, tilting his head in confusion. "They seem like nice kids."

"Don't let the delightful part in their name fool you, they're a real pain in the heinie," Ranger Joey warned. "If you can avoid it, don't talk to them. They have a way of messing with your head."

Alice nodded. She had heard of the Delightful Children, but only in passing. They were several grades below her, so it wasn't like she saw them around school. All she knew was that they were enemies of the Kids Next Door and liked to have the most over-the-top cake at their birthdays. What they could be doing in Peach Creek Estates and for what reason she didn't know and she wasn't especially eager to find out.

"I should go," Alice stated. "Jimmy didn't say when I had to do this, but it probably has to be done sooner than later."

"Yeah, probably," Ranger Joey agreed. "See yah around."

"Don't be worried, Alice," Wilt told her, beaming a bright smile. "You'll do great!"

Alice smiled weakly at his confidence, and left the Cul-de-Sac swiftly. She could have flown over to Sector V using the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., but she preferred to walk. S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s were for long distance travel, like if she wanted to go between the Suburbs and Downtown (not that she wanted to). She could have also used a Monkey Skyway Agent, but she definitely didn't want to use that form of transportation. Although Mojo had pledged his assistance with the war, she didn't exactly trust him or his minions. Being dropped from several hundred feet in the air didn't sound like fun, even if she had a way of protecting herself. So, she stuck to walking the distance between the Cul-de-Sac and Sector V's Treehouse. There weren't as many volunteers running around fighting off the monsters as there had been when Alice first started, but luckily there weren't as many Fusions roaming around either. Alice only had to fight off at least six monsters on her trek to the treehouse, which was smaller than normal (usually she'd be stopped by at least ten or eleven monsters in her travels).

The Treehouse wasn't busy when she landed on the hovering island. She hadn't gone the back route, but had gone around toward the front, facing Numbuh One's house. Several Kids Next Door operatives were by the front door, selling their wares. A Monkey Skyway Agent was sitting on the front steps, lazily scrolling through his communicator as he waited for a customer. Blossom was busy speaking with two volunteers, so Alice gave her a brief nod as she passed the Powerpuff. Numbuh Two was typing on his communicator when Alice approached him.

"Numbuh Two?" she called, getting his attention.

Numbuh Two glanced up. "That's me. What can I do for you?"

"I was sent here from Jimmy Jones. He said you'd know about the Sonic Earplugs?"

"I do know about them, but I don't have 'em," Numbuh Two replied, pocketing his communicator. "They were supposed to be in Genius Grove, but I just got word from some other volunteers that the earplugs were stolen by the Tech Wings. You're going to have to go down there and take out a few 'till they drop."

"There's others working on this?" Alice asked.

"Two others," Numbuh Two answered. "Ben usually does this."

Alice nodded in acknowledgement.

"When you get them, come back here. I gotta help you put 'em in and calibrate them to protect against the base's security system," Numbuh Two continued. "You good?"

* * *

Things were not going well.

Seven Tech Wings down and not a single sonic earplugs in sight. True, Alice didn't have an idea on what the sonic earplugs actually looked like, but she could guess that they were as small as regular earplugs. Since Fusions could absorb the item into their anatomy, it made it difficult for Alice to determine which creature had the item or not, so she was left to just hit whatever Tech Wing was within vicinity and just hope the item would drop. But the longer she was out in the area, the higher chance they'd start ganging up on her. Alice was just catching her breath after fighting off her eighth Tech Wing when she felt tapping on her shoulder. The girl spun around on her heel, raising her hand up in preparation for a battle. Her "opponent" raised up their hand and waved at the blue haired girl.

"Hey, Alice!" Suzy greeted her fellow classmate cheerfully.

"Suzy?" Alice asked in surprise, retracting her hand.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods?" the red head questioned, clasping her hands behind her back.

"I'm looking for Sonic Earplugs," Alice answered. "The Tech Wings are supposed to have them, but none have dropped them."

"Oh, you got an email from Jimmy, too?" Suzy asked, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "This is so cool! I just got my pair. Why don't I help you out?"

"You don't have to," Alice protested. "Ben wants the bases locked down."

Suzy shrugged nonchalantly. "The bases were okay before he called us in for it, so I think they can survive a little longer," she reasoned. "Besides, three of us tackling this would make things move a lot faster, don'tcha think?"

Alice was about to protest further, because she didn't want to impose on Suzy, but paused as she thought over Suzy's words. There weren't three of them standing there; just two.

"Three?" she repeated.

A Tech Wing decided it was the perfect moment to interrupt the conversation, swooping down over their heads as a high pitch screech emanated from its mouth. Alice and Suzy ducked, avoiding the monster's claws. Alice raised her hand, prepared to fire a blast at the creature, but a tentacle shot out and wrapped around the monster's neck, jerking it away from the girls. A second tentacle shot through the winged creature's chest, cleaving the Tech Wing in twain. The dissolved Fusion Matter rained down, forming a puddle on the grassy ground.

"Seriously, Suzy?" Nergal Junior complained, stopping next to the puddle and having his communicator vacuum it up. He spotted something on the ground and scooped it up. "You roped me into teaming up, the least you can do is not run o-" Junior's complaint died on his tongue when he spotted who Suzy was speaking with. "A-Alice?"

"Guess what, she's on the same job. She's joining our team!" Suzy chirped, completely ignoring the fact that Alice hadn't accepted her offer.

"But I-" Alice tried to explain, but was interrupted by an unamused Junior.

"Did she _actually_ agree or did you make the decision yourself?" Junior accused Suzy, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I offered our services," Suzy replied flippantly. "It just makes more sense for all three of us to be working together on this job rather than competing."

"But I don't want to slow you two down," Alice protested, finally able to get a word in. "I haven't been able to find any earplugs yet, and Ben wants the base shut down before the Fusions get in."

"It's fine," Junior assured her. "I have the last pair." He fished them out of his pocket and held them out to Alice, who stared up at him in surprise. "We were actually looking for the third pair to give to Numbuh Two. When Mandark left for Tech Square, the Plumbers hid the Sonic Earplugs in his yard since they figured his parents wouldn't go searching for them, but Lala found them. She told me there was only three pairs in the box when she searched it, so that's how many were stolen. That last Tech Wing had the final pair."

Lalavava was Mandark's younger sister. She was about two years younger than Alice, so Alice never had any classes with the girl; she merely saw her around Gallagher Elementary when Alice used to go there. Lalavava was a bully who treated others with zero respect; she didn't even treat fellow bullies - Sperg, Mitch, Terrance - with any respect. Alice didn't exactly trust the younger girl, but Lalavava never showed any interest in science, so would she care about bases focusing on the extraterrestrial?

"See? It's basically destiny that we all met up," Suzy stated proudly, striking a triumphant pose by putting her fists on her hips. "So what do you say, Alice? Want to team up?"

Alice hesitated with her answer. The idea of teaming up with others hadn't ever crossed her mind; she always expected she'd just go it alone like she did for group projects in school. Whenever teachers had then group up, the other students would shun Alice and so she'd be left on her own. Suzy's persistence in recruiting Alice was throwing the alien girl for a loop; Suzy was behaving like she _actually_ wanted to work with her. Then there was Suzy's logic; it _would_ make more sense for the three of them to work on shutting down the base together rather than competing with each other.

Suppressing the nervous butterflies that fluttered inside her stomach, she nodded at the two of them.

"Okay," Alice agreed, taking the earplugs out of Junior's hands.

"Fantastic!" Suzy cheered ecstatically, pumping a fist of victory in the air. "Those Fusions better watch out, 'cause we're coming for them!"

"First we need to go to Numbuh Two," Junior pointed out dryly. "These aren't just regular earplugs."

"Well I know that," the redhead replied. "I was just pointing out that we're a dream team. Have you always been so moody?"

Junior rolled his eyes from behind his glasses, and motioned his head back toward the area behind DeeDee's backyard.

"C'mon, we can hitch a ride with the Skyway Agents," he pointed out, already moving in that direction.

Alice tensed up at the mention of the monkeys, worried about trusting them. It would be a faster way to travel, but... Alice was jostled when Suzy linked their arms together. The redhead smiled brightly at Alice and then at Junior.

"Actually, since we've got this nice weather, why not walk?" Suzy suggested. "Besides, we gotta keep in shape. Can't let Fuse's minions get the better of us."

Junior's brows furrowed, a confused frown settling on his face. He opened his mouth to protest the idea, but Suzy was already making her way out of Genius Grove, tugging Alice along. The blue haired girl was so surprised that she stumbled, catching herself before she could fall face first to the ground.

"C'mon, Junior!" Suzy called over her shoulder. "You don't want to be left behind, do yah?"

Junior frowned, momentarily looked at the Skyway Agents, and then released a heavy sigh and followed after the two girls, putting his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. Flying would be faster, but Suzy was too stubborn to be swayed, and Junior didn't want to put up a fight. Said girl still had her arm interlocked with Alice's, leading the girl out of Genius Grove. The two girls were barely two steps into Pokey Oaks South when a pack of Newspaper Ninja appeared out of nowhere just a second after Alice felt something was wrong. Alice startled at their arrival, but Suzy reacted quickly, pulling out a Whizbee and throwing it at the pack of three. It exploded at their feet, halting their movements momentarily.

Without releasing her hold on Alice, Suzy pulled out a Crayon Cannon and started shooting at the pack, focusing primarily on the one in the middle. Alice was surprised by how efficient Suzy was, but also realized that the three Fusions monsters were not moving. They were frozen in place, and based on the guttural sounds they made, it wasn't by choice. Alice couldn't let Suzy do all the fighting, so she raised her unused hand and sent an energy blast at the ninja to the right of the leader. It took three shots, but the creature turned to Fusion Matter, and Alice diverted her attention to the Newspaper Ninja to the left of the front ninja. Suzy had finished dealing with the middle monster and helped fire at the ninja on the left. With the two dealing with the monster, it easily dissolved into matter.

Suzy released a pleased hum as she put her weapon back into her communicator. She tilted her head over her shoulder, winking at the boy that was standing behind the girls.

"You're getting better with that," she complimented.

Alice looked over her own shoulder as well, only just piecing together that the monsters had been frozen in spot just like _that_ day at school. Junior had his glasses off, and was rubbing his eyes with his hand. When he moved his hand away, Alice was able to catch red tinting the edge of his eyes, indicating that the organs were irritated.

"Haven't had to do this much since winter camp," the boy said, lightly complaining to himself as he put on his glasses.

"You had monsters at winter camp?" Suzy inquired, her eyebrows raising.

"Something like that," Junior answered, shrugging his right shoulder evasively.

"Well you did good," the redhead praised. She spun her head around to face Alice, her eyes sparkling in excitement. "You did good, too, Alice. You weren't even using a weapon! Was that your power, like moving the lockers back at the school?"

"Yes," Alice answered. "I've...been practicing."

Suzy's eyes seemed to have gotten even brighter, and Alice took a subconscious step away, forgetting that her arm was still linked with Suzy's. Still, the movement spurred Suzy into action, and she continued their trek to Sector V, Nergal Jr. following at their heels.

"You know I heard about some girl fighting off a boss Fusion in the Cul-de-Sac a while back. _Rumor_ has it that she did this without a weapon," Suzy explained. "That was you, right?"

The inquisitive look Suzy was sending the girl already _knew_ it was Alice; she was just looking for verbal confirmation to her suspicion. Alice worried her bottom lip. Eddy's accusatory look flashed in her mind, and she tensed.

Looking away, Alice admitted, "Yes."

Suzy nodded sagely.

"I figured. When I heard it, I remembered the school, so I figured it'd be you," the redhead responded. "I've never faced off against a boss before. They sound pretty frightening."

"How did you hear?" Alice asked demurely. She didn't think it was the talk of the Cul-de-Sac. None of the Urban Rangers that had been present that day would give her nods when she saw them, but none would broach the subject with her.

"The Urban Rangers and Buttercup Scouts are good friends, so I heard about it through the grapevine. I had an inkling it was you, but wasn't sure till right now," Suzy replied. "So, were you born with it?"

Alice bit down hard on her lip, her eyes shifting away out of fear. There was no denying she was born with these abilities, but she just wasn't willing to say it. What would they think? How would they respond? Was it just safer to stay silent on the matter? Should she lie and say she didn't know? So many questions, so little answers.

"On second thought, you don't have to tell us," Suzy assured her, and her assurance brought Alice's eyes back onto her. "You look like you're still coming to terms with it, and it wouldn't be right of me to force it out of you. Tell me when you're more comfortable. I can't speak for Nergie-" 'Nergie' sent a withering glare in Suzy's direction for the nickname she had bestowed him, but the girl ignored it. "-but whether you're an E.V.O, demon, alien, Imaginary Friend or a science experiment gone right, it won't change my opinion of you."

"We're in agreement," Junior commented, his glare dissolving and his features softening when he turned his attention on Alice. "You shouldn't be ashamed of what you are, but you've already been through a lot, and this probably didn't help. Take whatever time you need to be comfortable with it."

Alice's cheeks turned slightly pink in embarrassment, and she glanced away. Ever since Eddy's outburst at her, she had been expecting everyone to react the same. Unjustly and unfairly, she had assumed, what with this being an alien invasion, that everyone she'd tell it to would freak out on her. She hadn't taken into account that maybe some weren't like Eddy who were afraid of aliens because of the invasion or like Harangue who had a dead-on hatred of anything extraterrestrial even before the invasion. Granted, she hadn't exactly told either of them that she was an alien, but their guide was Ben, a teenager who could change into any alien, so maybe they wouldn't be so quick to scorn her heritage.

Still, the part of her that was filled with trepidation kept her from spouting off her lineage. Instead, she showed her appreciation for their understanding by thanking them.

Suzy shifted topics following Alice's expression of gratitude, asking the girl what she'd been up to since joining the war effort. Suzy had been up in the Wilds for a week, helping around Camp Kidney. The camp's scoutmaster had locked himself up in his office, and the assistant scoutmaster, Mister Slinkman, needed help keeping the Crazy Metal Boy Scouts from hurting his Bean Scouts. Junior had been helping out primarily in Endsville, but had drifted into the Nuclear Plant and City Point whenever a job popped up. Compared to Alice, they seemed more seasoned, having volunteered at the very start of the war.

Their trip to Sector V was interrupted occasionally by packs of Ball-Peen Meanies and Pesky Ponies. Normally a time hassle when alone, the process of exterminating the monsters went by a lot faster with two others to help out.

"Howdy!" Numbuh Two greeted the trio when they approached him on the floating island. "Did you get the plugs?"

"Of course," Suzy chirped, pulling out her pair. Junior and Alice followed suit.

"Great job. Put them in, and I'll adjust it for you. You're going to use these-"

"-At Father's development site," Junior cut in, completing the sentence as he did what was instructed. "There's a base hidden in there, which isn't where I'd put a base. Putting something that top secret in a residential area is asking for someone to sneak in."

"Yes, but it's hidden. Jimmy Jones is sending the coordinates once we get there," Suzy responded, doing her best not to look in Junior's direction because Numbuh Two was calibrating the earplugs in her ears. "Besides, even if some teenagers stumbled onto it and tried entering it, the alarm system would send them running."

"Which is why you were sent to get these," Numbuh Two contributed to the conversation, moving on from Suzy to help Alice out.

Alice flinched out of habit, not used to non-family members touching her. Numbuh Two worked swiftly, spending maybe a handful of seconds to fine-tune the pair. Once he finished setting up Alice's earplugs, he moved to work on Junior's.

"You'll be able to hear normally until you find the base's access point. When you use the code on the access point, it'll trigger the system's alarm. The earplugs will deafen so none of you lose your eardrums," Numbuh Two explained. "Once the code is accepted, the alarm will turn off and the base will be locked down."

"Do we return the earplugs to you?" Alice questioned.

"Ben wants you to keep 'em. You may be called on to lock down more bases, so it'll be faster and easier for you if you've already got the tools," Numbuh Two answered, stepping away from Junior. "Okay, you're all set to leave."

"Let's get moving, team," Suzy instructed her two teammates, leading the way to one of the many ziplines that went from the floating island to the ground. "We've got a base to lock down!"

"Aren't you going to take the Skyway Agents? It's faster," Numbuh Two pointed out.

"We're getting our fitness in," Suzy replied without turning to look over her shoulder. "It's a beautiful day, and I don't want to waste it."

Numbuh Two lifted up his helmet enough so that he could scratch his head in confusion, watching the trio descend to the ground. Logically, it made more sense to use Mojo's monkey minions. The agents would fly them into the Cul-de-Sac, and then they'd walk to Peach Creek Estates from there.

"Awh well." Numbuh Two shrugged. "They're just shutting down a base. How hard can it be?"

* * *

"Are you not aware that stepping foot on this property is considered trespassing?" five voices interrogated as one.

Getting the Peach Creek Estates had been easy for the group of three, only having to handle a few pockets of monsters that thought they could get the drop on the pre-teens. Their biggest roadblock, currently standing between them and the Dexbot that led into the infected zone, was known as the Delightful Children From Down the Lane.

Alice took a step back, creeped out by the behavior they exhibited. She knew that they operated like they were one body, but it was seriously creepy how much of a hive-mind the five shared. Suzy and Junior were noticeably less disturbed by the manners. Suzy kept her smile on her face, looking just as friendly as ever. Junior, although not looking creeped out, crossed his arms and leveled an annoyed look in the Delightful Children's direction. The Delightful Children didn't look frightened of this look, sending back a haughty expression of their own as the five continued blocking them passage to the Dexbot.

"We're here on official guide business," Suzy explained, showing her communicator to them like it was a police badge.

"So?" the Delightful Children challenged. "We've been tasked by Father to make sure no one steals anything from his development site."

"There isn't anything worth stealing in there," Junior pointed out, tilting his head in the Infected zone's direction. "Everything's contaminated."

"Even still-"

"Even still," Junior interrupted, advancing forward so that he was standing directly toe-to-toe with them, "you're going to move out of our way and let us through or I will **make you**."

Alice stared wide eyed at Junior's back, stunned by the threat he had made. She knew the Delightful Children were not good people, but they didn't pose them an immediate threat. She glanced Suzy's way, to see if the feelings were mutual, but Suzy didn't look worried in the slightest. She kept smiling, looking almost confident that the outcome would be in their favor.

Junior and the Delightful Children held a silent staring contest, each side antagonizing the other to back down. Finally, just before Alice's nerves could completely fry under the pressure, the Delightful Children stepped to the side and walked past Junior. The glasses wearing half-demon followed their movements, just to make sure he wouldn't be attacked by surprise.

"Don't touch anything that doesn't belong to you," the five warned, passing by Junior and Suzy without causing a fuss. They paused next to Alice, and turned to give her their attention. There was a knowing look in their eyes that didn't sit well with Alice. As if to confirm her thoughts, the Delightful Children smirked. "Wouldn't want more _alien_ things to interfere with Father's development, now would we?"

Alice blanched at the implication. _They knew_. They knew about her identity. The Delightful Children, pleased with themselves, continued past her.

"Have a nice day, _freaks_ ," the children said as they left.

"They're one to talk," Junior bristled angrily.

"Leave them," Suzy replied. "They won't be bothering us for a while. Let's lock down the base before they decide to do some snooping and realize they've had some seriously good tech in their backyard."

Junior grunted in agreement and walked up the ramp to the Dexbot who was patiently waiting. Suzy made to follow, but paused when she realized Alice wasn't following. Spinning around, she found the blue haired girl standing several paces away, blue eyes glued to the dirt beneath her feet.

"Alice?" Suzy prompted. "Are you coming?"

Alice didn't respond to the call; she didn't even hear it. Her eyes jumped from the dirt to the Infected Zone sporadically, like they couldn't figure out which one they wanted to settle on. Or maybe they were avoiding looking at the barrier that separated the tarnished Earth with the rest of the environment. Alice had never stepped foot in an Infected Zone, and carefully avoided jobs that would have her go into one. Her stomach twisted and turned any time she looked at one, typically bringing up bad memories of the invasion. Had she known that this particular job would lead her here….

"What's wrong, Alice?"

Alice's breath hitched, and she jumped at the call. She forced herself to meet the faces of her teammates. Suzy had drawn nearer to her, and Junior had stepped away from the Dexbot to stand at the base of the ramp. Both were looking at her in concern. She looked away in shame and embarrassment, wrapping a hand over her chest.

"It's...I..."

Words failed her, so she shut her mouth and tightened her hold on her arm.

"Have you ever been in an Infected Zone?" Junior asked. There was no judgement in his tone, just honest curiosity.

Alice shook her head.

"You're thinking about that day at school, right?" Junior asked.

Alice bit her bottom lip, her eyes shifting to look to the other side. She didn't verbally confirm it, but it was an admission all the same.

"Awh Alice, you don't have to be ashamed of that. I still think about it too," Suzy consoled, approaching and carefully sliding a hand around girl's shoulder so that it was a half-hug. "It was a scary day, but we can't let that fear stop us."

"Besides, you won't be alone," Junior added. "We'll be with you the entire way. You'll be okay."

Alice took in a deep breath, putting a lid on her nerves. They were right. She needed to do this. She nodded at Suzy.

"I-I'm ready," she announced.

Suzy and Junior smiled at her, and the three of them stepped onto the platform. Junior pulled out his communicator and began making the entry request. While he was doing that, Suzy leaned in close to Alice, whispering, "Just stick close, and everything will be okay." Alice nodded, just before she felt herself getting lighter. Looking around, she found that herself and the other two were filling with light. A moment later, their scenery changed.

The inside of the Infected Zone was exactly like Alice imagined, but also different. The grounds were mostly contaminated, and the land looked like it was separating, something that hadn't been happening during Father's development. Surprisingly, things that shouldn't be moving (like wooden planks and concrete slabs) were moving, or suspending in mid-air. Alice stared in a mixture of fascination and trepidation.

"Yeah, it's freaky," Suzy agreed, correctly reading the reaction on Alice's face. "Apparently too much Fusion Matter effects gravity and is making all of this-" she swept her hand to the moveable objects "-possible."

"Don't step on the green stuff," Junior cautioned, stepping off the Dexbot. "It's concentrated Fusion Matter, and it'll burn you."

Junior led the trio further into the zone, coming up to a large wood stump that had a zipline installed into it. Alice stared at it in surprise, since that was not a normal contraption found in a developing site. She'd seen it at the treehouse in Sector V, but she didn't expect to see it in an Infected Zone. Suzy hopped up and grabbed the handle, shooting off from the stump into a half-built house. Junior stepped up next, but stopped when he saw Alice's perplexed look.

"It was put in by Dexter's team," Junior explained, waving a hand at the wire. "It's a fast and mostly safe way to get over Fusion Matter. They added a cannon too, to help get over large open spaces."

Alice's eyes doubled in surprise. A cannon? Was that _safe?_ Junior stepped back from the zipline and nodded his head at it.

"Here, go first," Junior said.

Alice agreed, hopping up to the stump and grabbing the handle waiting for her. With a kick, she went down the short line (Sector V's Treehouse had a longer line, considering how high up it was) and met Suzy on the other side. Junior came down a second later, landing next to the girls.

"Who's got directions?" Junior asked.

"I can do it. I left my map on," Suzy answered, pulling out her communicator. "Map says we're close by."

Suzy led their group of three to the left of the house, going through an undeveloped part of the structure. Suzy was nearing its exit when the hair on the back of Alice's neck stood on end. Suzy took one step onto the dirt, and a Heavy Pincher appeared, bringing its pincher downward. The monster was too close for Alice to strike him with one of her blasts, so she did the next best thing: she threw up an energy shield. It wasn't a dome, like she had learned to do under Blossom's teaching, but just a large wall-like structure that was tall enough to protect Suzy from the Heavy Pincher's attack. The monster released an aggravated cry when it saw its attack repelled. When Alice saw Suzy pull out her Camp Oar, she dropped the shield. With the shield dropped, Suzy immediately went on the offense, swinging her melee weapon. Two tentacles sprouted from Junior's back, and he used them to wrap around the monster's long arm, twisting it. Suzy delivered the final blow to the monster's main body right as Junior was able to snap the monster's arm off, dissolving the monster into Fusion Matter. Releasing a sigh of satisfaction, Suzy wiped away sweat from her brow.

"Thanks for that, Alice," she said to the other girl, sending her a smile.

"But I didn't do anything," Alice protested. "I couldn't help."

"Protecting me from a hit is _not_ nothing," Suzy countered. "Don't put yourself down like that."

"It was one monster, and this was a tight space," Junior continued, retracting his tentacles after giving them a once over. "Your blasts wouldn't haven't been possible without hurting one of us, so you made the right call."

Alice stared in surprise, but nodded. She still felt like she could have done more, but maybe Junior was right. Maybe she would have done more harm than help if she had tried to do more.

"Now let's get back on track!" Suzy declared, pulling off her communicator from her hip.

She didn't put away her Camp Oar as she led the way to the Plumber base, clearly expecting to be intercepted by another monster. Fortunately for them, the three resumed their expedition with no interference from the Fusion Monsters, although they had to carefully maneuver themselves over a batch of Fusion Matter that was imbedded into the ground (and Junior had pointed out the cannon for Alice, just so she'd know what it was). The three circled the access point, staring down at the object that was sticking out of the ground.

"You taking the lead on this one?" Junior asked Suzy, looking from the access point to the girl.

"Sure!" Suzy answered him, holding up her communicator. "Get ready."

Junior stepped back three paces, to put some distance between him and the noise that was going to come. He reached out and touched Alice's elbow, guiding her to follow him. Suzy tapped away at her communicator, and almost instantly the alarm rang out. The sonic earplugs did their job in buffering the majority of the noise, leaving only a low hum to be heard by them. It was only five seconds later that the noise turned off, and the access point locked and disappeared into the ground. Suzy grinned in the direction of her two teammates.

"Mission accomplished."

"We should probably leave. That noise will attract some Fusions," Junior mentioned, roaming his eyes over the area to keep from being surprised again.

Simultaneously, their communicators all chimed, although the sound was different for each communicator. Alice grabbed her communicator and opened up the mail app, finding that Jimmy Jones sent in a new email.

 **Subject Line:** **Plumber Base in Peach Creek Estates**

**Great work! However, that's not the only secret base in the area. Mind going over to Goat's Junkyard and locking that base down too? You can reuse the previous code.**

**-Jimmy Jones**

Attached with the message was the coordinates for the next base.

"Numbuh Two wasn't kidding about needing these for another base," Suzy remarked, pocketing her communicator. "Ready for round two?"

"It's close by," Junior commented. "It can be done quickly."

"On the plus side, we won't have to deal with the Delightful Children," Suzy added on, going back the way they came since their exit was nearby. "Since Goat is away, he's having Coop watch over the place, and Coop is a big teddy bear."

They left the Delightful Developments Infected Zone (encountering no Fusions along the way since they hadn't regenerated quickly enough) and were pleased to find that the Delightful Children were nowhere in sight. The trip from Peach Creek Estates to Goat's Junkyard was met with little resistance, save for a pack of Heavy Pinchers that were put down swiftly. Junior's nose crinkled as they neared the junkyard.

"Why would anyone want to be near this dump?" he asked aloud, eyeing the piles of junk with disdain. "It smells disgusting."

"Don't you live at the center of the Earth?" Suzy questioned over her shoulder. She had an eyebrow raised upward. "Isn't it fire and brimstone down there?"

Junior's face tinted pink and he hastily responded, "That's the Underworld. And besides, we moved into a home in Endsville a year and a half ago."

"The Nuclear Plant is next door to Endsville," Suzy pointed out, spinning around so she could speak to him while walking backwards. "That produces a worse smell than this place. Probably poisonous, too."

The pink on Junior's face deepened to a rose red as he realized that he had no counter. He was thankful the conversation was forced to an end because their small party made it to the entrance of the Infected Zone. A Dexbot was their only greeter, offering a generic "Very nice weather we're having" as they stepped up to the platform. Junior was nearly complete with their request when he was interrupted.

"Where do you three think you're going?"

The three in question turned to find a redhead woman - Kiva - exiting the trailer, marching straight toward them.

"Guide job," Suzy replied, showing off her communicator like she had with the Delightful Children.

Kiva blinked at the green communicator, and her shoulders sagged like the tension had been sapped out of her.

"A-are you okay?" Alice asked the woman.

"Yes, just relieved," Kiva responded. "We've been having some trouble with kids sneaking in to steal parts from Megas, only to get cornered by some Fusions."

"But that shouldn't be happening," Suzy remarked, her eyes widening in alarm. "The Dexbot is only supposed to allow volunteers in. Our communicators were given specific designations to prevent this."

Alice blinked, having not known that, though it made sense why Suzy knew this bit of information. Kiva sighed and nodded in agreement to Suzy's reasoning.

"Unfortunately, someone good with robotics came in and busted it. It now allows anyone in with or without a communicator," Kiva replied. "Coop and I have been trying to fix it, but it's a software issue rather than hardware. I've been waiting on DexLabs to send over someone to repair it."

"I didn't think these could be hacked," Junior commented, looking over at the Dexbot. "DexLabs is pretty good with their security."

"Could be a competitor," Suzy pointed out, frowning in concentration. "Mandark is his biggest rival in the tech industry…. although I don't think he'd be able to pull off something like this."

"I really doubt this was his doing," Junior rebutted. "He's a copycat, not a hacker."

"You three don't need to worry about this," Kiva stepped in. "We have a solution on the way, and it'll be fixed. You have a job to complete, remember?"

"Right," Suzy answered, nodding her head in determination. "We'll go lock up the base, and come back to solve the mystery of who did this."

"I appreciate the offer, but really-"

"This isn't just about this Dexbot," Junior cut in, pointing a thumb at the robot. "If someone's able to do this here, what's stopping them from doing it elsewhere?"

"I already notified Dexter the moment it happened. He's been sending out technicians to all the other Dexbots to check that they're in functioning order," Kiva explained calmly, trying to be rational with the kids.

"Is there any video that could be reviewed?" Alice asked.

"I already checked the Dexbot's," Kiva answered. "Apparently it doesn't record video, it just keeps a record of any communicators that it granted access to."

"The junkyard doesn't have any surveillance?" Junior questioned skeptically.

"It's a junkyard," Kiva volleyed back. "The only thing worth stealing is Megas, and that's not possible. It's just parts that can be stolen."

Junior nodded, conceding to her point. It would be rather ridiculous to have video surveillance for a junkyard.

"What are you talking about, Kiva? Goat's got a camera."

Kiva spun around to stare wide-eyed at a heavyset man standing at the junkyard's archway. In one hand was a sub sandwich and in the other a video game.

"What does _that_ mean, Coop?" Kiva questioned, though it sounded more like a demand.

"Goat bought a camera a while back," Coop replied, raising his sub holding hand to point out the camera that was stationed at the corner where the archway met the fence, facing toward the Dexbot.

Kiva looked at the camera incredulously before dropping her gaze back onto Coop, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"When were you going to tell me about **that**?!" she demanded.

Coop shrugged, unfazed by her annoyance. He took a bite of his sandwich. "I thought Jamie would."

"He did not!"

Coop took another bite out of his sandwich, looking far too casual for the situation. Was he not taking it seriously? Kiva breathed in heavily through her nose, and physically composed herself. The three kids wisely kept silent through the whole ordeal.

"Can you get the video?" she asked Coop in measured tones.

"Sure," Coop replied cheerily, moving towards the trailer.

Kiva massaged the side of her head, releasing a huff of frustration.

"If I had known about this sooner…" she muttered to herself, but the kids heard it anyway. She turned to regard them. "You three should continue with your job. Be careful while you're in there."

"No need to be worried," Suzy responded. "We're an unstoppable team. No monster has been able to take us down."

The corner of Kiva's lips quirked upward briefly, and she nodded at the confidence Suzy exuded.

"Very well," she said, turning so she could return to the trailer. "Stop by when you're done, so you can see who the mystery vandalizer was."

"Deal!" Suzy called after. After giving a wave goodbye to Kiva's back, the girl spun around to regard her teammates. "Ready team?"

"Have been for a while," Junior responded, leading the way to the Dexbot platform.

Even though the Dexbot was broken, the three still showed their communicators so that there would be a recorded log with their personal numbers attached to it. Junior pulled out his communicator, activating his map function so that they could follow it to the base. Alice took a sweeping look around the zone, finding it wildly different looking from the development site. Items that shouldn't float were floating, which was like the other Infected Zone, but the sky was a very dark green. There had been green tints in the sky in the prior zone, but this one was especially dark. It didn't make the place feel very welcoming, especially with how empty it was. There was no soul in the zone except for them and the Fusions; other volunteers were probably sent away by Kiva to ensure their safety.

"C'mon, I'll lead the way," Junior said, stepping forward to lead their group. "Based on where the coordinates lay on the map, I'm pretty sure I passed it last time I was here."

"You never mentioned that," Suzy responded, tilting her head. "Hiding some secrets from us?"

Junior shrugged. "Didn't see an opportunity to bring it up. Watch out for trash flying out at you."

Junior guided the two girls through the first portion of the Infected Zone, taking a path that didn't have them encountering the many, many Scrap Tyrants. On the other side of the junk wall, they only had to encounter two Scrap Scrappers, disposing of them easily. They found the base's access point at the south-center of the Infected Zone, thankfully left unprotected from the monsters in the zone. Either the monsters didn't know what this access point protected, or they were busy doing other things.

"You want to give this a try?" Junior asked Alice, looking her way.

Alice sent a concerned look Suzy's way, but the redhead sent her a thumbs up as a response. She turned her head back to Junior and nodded slowly. He nodded back to her and stepped away from the access point, letting her get closer. Alice took in a deep breath; there was no reason to be worried. She'd seen Suzy do it, and it was pretty easy. Pulling out her communicator, she mimicked everything Suzy had done, and heard the dull sound of the security system's alarm through her Sonic Earplugs. It lasted seconds, and then went away. The base's access point retreated into the ground, safely secured from any that would try to force their way in. A second later, the communicators chimed.

 **Subject Line:** **Plumber Base in Peach Creek Estates**

**You did it! The bases are locked and secured. Thanks for the assistance. Mr. Tennyson will be pleased with your good work. I'll be sending more jobs your way soon, so keep your communicator on.**

**-Jimmy Jones**

Alice moved to put her communicator back on her person, but stopped when it chimed again. She looked at the new message.

**Subject Line: Thanks a Lot**

**Hey, just got word from Jimmy about you locking down the bases. Thanks! It would have been a real challenge if Fuse's cronies got 'em. Keep up the good job.**

**It's Hero Time!**

**-Ben Tennyson**

Alice smiled briefly at the message and put her communicator away when she felt Suzy come to stand next to her.

"Ready to leave this place?" Suzy asked Alice. "Junior's complaining about the smell."

"Just because _you_ don't have sensitive senses doesn't mean you get to mock me for having them," Junior argued back at her, already making his way to the Dexbot at the back of the Infected Zone. "And just to repeat myself from the last place, we don't want to attract more Fusions!"

Suzy shrugged at Alice in a what-can-you-do manner but followed after the half-demon. Alice followed behind, giving Megas' resting spot a lingering gaze as she passed by the giant robot. It was standing in a puddle of Fusion Matter so deep Alice couldn't see the bottom, and everywhere along its metallic body was Fusion Matter stuck to it. Seeing it trapped sent a chill down Alice's spine; it was supposed to be capable of protecting the Earth, and yet this is where it rested, unable to save so many people from the first day of the invasion. She forced herself to keep moving. There wasn't anything she could do for it today.

When the group of three returned on the other side of the Infected Zone, the Dexbot that operated the teleportation pad had a weasel standing on its two hind legs, tinkering with the Dexbot's innards. Alice recognized the creature as Weasel, a highly successful author and DexLabs' most recent employee. The mammal spared them a quick wave of salutations, and then continued with his work uninterrupted. The trio stepped off the platform and wandered over to where Kiva and Coop were huddled by the trailer, looking at a communicator held in Kiva's hand. The two adults looked up when they heard their footsteps approach.

"Hey, hey!" Coop whooped as he greeted them. "Welcome back. How was Megas? Still covered in that goo?"

"Unfortunately. Luckily the Fusions weren't getting close to it," Suzy reported. "Did you find our mystery saboteur?"

"Yes," Kiva replied, a steely look on her face. "I don't recognize them though."

"They're _super_ creepy," Coop added, shuddering as he remembered them. "I mean, how is it possible for five kids to walk as one? That's a trick from a horror film!"

Alice's blood ran cold as she immediately thought of who that could be describing. Nergal Junior's eyes hooded over in anger, and Suzy's lips turned downward in displeasure.

Ranger Joey had been right with his warning.

"The Delightful Children," Suzy said, identifying the kids for the two adults.

"They don't look very delightful to me," Coop said, squinting his eyes and tilting his head at the communicator's surface, as if trying to see if a different angle would make the saboteurs more delightful looking.

"They're _not_ ," Junior growled.

"They're enemies of the Kids Next Door," Suzy added in.

"We need to put a stop to them," Junior ordered. "This is despicable, even for them!"

"What do you purpose we do?" the redhead girl questioned calmly.

"Scare the crud out of them. Beat 'em up," her male teammate answered. "Take your pick."

"We're not going to attack them," Suzy countered, her brows furrowing. "It'll solve nothing."

"It'll keep them away from a Dexbot," the halfling demon replied. "They may even learn a lesson."

"You are not going after them," Kiva interjected, crossing her arms and falling into her military training.

"You're going to stop me?" Junior demanded, his voice dipping an octave.

The atmosphere shifted, and everyone felt it. The tension was dark and dense, so palpable a knife could be run through it. Suzy and Coop were shifting their gazes between Kiva and Junior rapidly, surprise visible in their eyes. Kiva widened her stance, preparing for Junior to launch at her. Two tentacles popped out from his back, waving erratically as if ready for a fight. Alice stared at Junior in panic, her breath catching in her throat. She had to stop this before someone got hurt.

Remembering how Aunt Muriel would rein Uncle Eustace in after a particularly long fight with her mother, Alice mimicked the memory and reached out, touching his arm just above Junior's elbow. The action was usually enough to draw her uncle's attention away and calm him down from his worked-up state. Junior's attention moved to her hand and then to her face, and she saw the exact second the aggression left him. The fight in his eyes was doused like water on a flame, and the tentacles retracted into his flesh. Seeing that he wasn't going to bite someone's head off, Alice pulled back her hand, muttering a quick apology because she had technically touched him without his permission.

"This matter is being handled without your involvement," Kiva stated, sensing that the danger had passed. "I didn't put this on Help Wanted, and I'm not going to. Dexter has been notified about the incident, and a copy of the video was sent to him. The Dexbot is being fixed and given a stronger firewall to protect it from further sabotage. Since you mentioned they're an enemy of the Kids Next Door, I'll get into contact with them so that they can deal with the Delightful Children." Perhaps realizing she was being too harsh on the kids (particularly Junior), she continued in a gentler tone, "You don't need to invest more time here. Go and help others who need it."

Junior didn't look very pleased with the answer, but he didn't make a comment. That was the best they were going to get out of him. Suzy, recovering fast from Junior's outburst, smiled brightly at the two adults.

"That's why we volunteered," Suzy stated. "Though we should probably take a break. We've been going non-stop." She looked over at her teammates. "What do you say?"

Alice looked in Junior's direction briefly, and, noticing how his shoulders were sagged, she nodded. They probably did need a break. Junior shrugged noncommittedly, not concerned with what happened next.

Taking that as an affirmative, Suzy continued, "Let's go back to the Cul-de-Sac. I know this stand that sells mouthwatering food and drinks. It'll be my treat!"

* * *

Alice and Junior found a picnic table to sit at while Suzy went off to get some smoothies for them. The stand Suzy had gushed about on the way to the Cul-de-Sac was called Mung Daal's Catering Stand, and it was run by a purple cat kid dressed far too warm for the weather. The line wasn't especially long, so Suzy was able to purchase and acquire the smoothies in little time, returning to their table with a tray of three plastic cups, one for each of them. She handed out the smoothies dutifully to her two teammates.

"These are Chillado Smoothies. They're the perfect way to cool down," Suzy explained to them. She dropped down next to Alice. "Don't drink it too fast, though. It gives brain freezes."

"Is this a joke?" Junior questioned, eyeing the drink in his hand.

"If you don't want it, I'll take it back," Suzy replied, holding out her hand to him.

Junior frowned petulantly and brought the drink closer to his person. Suzy smiled, having anticipated his response. She took a sip from her smoothie, watching with interested eyes as Junior and Alice both took hesitant sips from their own cups.

"So, what do you think?" she asked them.

"It's...surprisingly good," Junior answered. "I thought this was going to be terrible based on the name."

"Chowder only makes the best," Suzy stated with an affirmative nod. "What's your take, Alice?"

"It's good," Alice answered, going back in for another sip. She was cautious to not drink too fast, like Suzy warned.

Silence settled over the group of three as they sipped from their smoothies. Alice wasn't sure if there should be any small talk, but she didn't think she was the best person to start said small talk. Junior, on the other hand, decided to take it upon himself to start a conversation.

"Listen, about today," Junior began, meeting their eyes briefly before dropping them to his cup in shame. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry." He then clarified, "For how I acted."

"With the Delightful Children, Kiva or both?" Suzy asked, staring at the boy calmly.

"Both, but mostly my reaction to the Delightful Children," Junior answered. "I was just really annoyed that we weren't going to-"

"Deal with them?" Suzy finished, echoing his words from earlier.

Junior's cheeks pinked, and he tightened his hold on his plastic cup.

"Listen, I know it's not a satisfactory ending, but it's not like this was something we had to do. This is for Dexter to pursue," Suzy explained.

"It still isn't right," Junior answered back.

"No, what they did isn't," Suzy agreed. "But we have to let it go and look to other jobs, other people to help. We can't stay fixated on their bad actions."

The half-demon frowned, obviously displeased, but then he released a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, I know," he muttered. Breathing in deeply, he forced his tone to be less negative. "So, where are you two going after this?"

Alice shrugged as an answer. She never planned how her days were going to go, and was prepared to just accept another job in the neighborhood. A giddy smile crossed Suzy's face as she leaned forward.

"Well I was thinking, why don't we stick together and form a group?" Suzy proposed.

"Us?" Alice asked.

"Of course! Today was proof that we'd be amazing. We work well together!" Suzy pointed out. "We could get twice as many jobs, helping twice as many people!"

"Well... that is true," Junior admitted, brows coming together in thought.

"See?" Suzy turned her smile on Alice. "What do you say? Want to form a group?"

Alice hesitated with an answer because she had never been in that position before. She'd figured that this would be a one-time thing. The thought of joining a team left her with a stomach of butterflies.

"S-sure," she answered, ducking her head.

"Awesome!" Suzy cheered. Alice missed the glancing look Junior sent her, but the redhead did not, and with a Cheshire grin she asked, "So what about you, Nergie? Want to join our girl troop?"

"Stop calling me Nergie," Junior groused. "And fine, I'll join."

"Perfect! Then it's settled," Suzy said, jumping up from her seat. "I'll set up our team name for the Leaderboard and attach your com numbers to it."

"We need a group name?" Alice asked in confusion.

"The Leaderboard is set into two charts, singles and groups," Junior explained to her, stirring his smoothie. "Since we're going to be forming a group, we're going to be linked together, so our kills will be counted collectively."

Alice nodded, following along with the explanation. She didn't have much use for the Leaderboard, but she'd keep that to herself. Junior and Suzy clearly relied on the Leaderboard, and Alice didn't want to ruin that for them.

Suzy grinned at held up her cup in the center.

"I'm calling a toast, to our new team!" she declared. "On three. One..."

Junior and Alice shared a look, but brought their own cups so they touched Suzy's.

"Two...Three..."

"To our new team!" the three cheered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Thank you for returning and reading another chapter.
> 
> I want to thank legomegazord and OpenFusion's team. Legomegazord's mission videos helped me with Alice's guide missions, and OpenFusion gave me the opportunity to visit both Infected Zones and be reminded of where everything was inside them.
> 
> All the missions Alice is a part of comes from the game. In order: Eduardo and the Pirates (Part 1), Imaginary Reinforcements (Parts 2 and 3) (sorta), Bugs and Earplugs, and Base Case (Parts 1 and 2).
> 
> Suzy and Junior are here to join Alice as main characters. We didn't get their appearances in the game, although Virt did reveal a sketch for Junior on his tumblr. For the purposes of the story, Junior doesn't wear his winter coat, he's wearing a black leather jacket over a red shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Suzy's clothing is closer to her look in Johnny Bravo, but instead of white socks she wears yellow knee length socks.
> 
> We have more inclusions of characters who were never in the game. Jimmy Jones, once I learned of him (I stopped watching Ben 10 after the first season of Alien Force, so I had to do some research), was a character I absolutely wanted in the story. Since Ben has his hands full with Vilgax and the Space Port, Jimmy is the obvious choice to have as his liaison. Maybe the other guides will have a liaison, maybe not.
> 
> Initially, the Delightful Children weren't going to be in the story because Father was going to be at Peach Creek Estates, but then I decided to leave him at Hookslice Hills (his intended place in Legacy) and use his kids instead. Of the many, many Kids Next Door kids I wanted in the game (FusionFall, Retro, or Legacy - it didn't matter which), the Delightful Children were in my top five. They were just going to be a name-only reference (like Lalavava), but then the idea of them attempting to block entry into their father's developing site and later messing with the Dexbot in the Infected Zone over was more exciting to write out (plus, sabotage seems right up their alley). Alas, no beatdown was planned for them, but who knows what the future will hold.
> 
> Weasel's appearance wasn't planned, but with the Delightful Children messing with the Dexbot, it seemed like a good place to insert him. I'll be honest, I.M. Weasel was a show I didn't watch (only saw one or two episodes, it wasn't in circulation any time I was watching Cartoon Network), so I had to do some research. Based on what I found, slotting him in at DexLabs seemed the best place. On the topic of unplanned characters, Chowder was another addition. Chowder was another show I didn't watch, but since the show is centered around good, including him at the Cul-de-Sac and having him run a stand seemed like the best place for him (no, he won't have the ability to know he's in a story).
> 
> Also, because the different cartoon worlds have to meld together in this universe, the kids in the Suburbs went to Gallagher Elementary instead of their own world's elementary schools (minus the Codename: Kids Next Door characters since that's where the school is from). This is where the majority of the characters know each other from. They all go to Gallagher Elementary for their elementary years, they move on to Pokey Oaks Junior High for their junior high years, and then move on to Peach Creek High School for their high school years.


	6. Up and Down Kind of Day

Even from high up in the clouds, the green mist that clung to Endsville sent a chill down Alice's spine. Like its neighbors Eternal Vistas and Eternal Meadows, Endsville had a spooky atmosphere that was challenged only by the old mining town in Haunted Ridge. She'd been lucky to never have to visit the place, only going through it on a class field trip to the Nuclear Plant, but today was the first time she'd actually set foot in the town.

Junior had sent out an early message, asking for her and Suzy to come meet him in Endsville. His cousin, Billy, needed some help, and Junior had offered up their services. Because it was a long walk, Alice opted to take the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. from the Cul-de-Sac to Endsville. It was safer than taking the Skyway Agents, who she still didn't trust.

"Alright, we're here," the K.N.D. pilot said as he landed the airship in a house's driveway.

Because of how early it was in the day, Alice was the pilot's only customer.

"Thank you," Alice said before hopping out of the flying camper.

She gave the area a quick look around. The home they were parked at was simple looking, and there were a few K.N.D. operatives scattered around the yard holding a game of _Who Killed Who?_ Across the way was another house that looked normal too, except that there was a tree nearly as tall as the house bent over. If not for the fact it existed in Endsville, it would have been ruled a dead tree. It seemed to have some sort of life, though, because its limbs were swaying in the breeze. In the driveway was some Monkey Skyway Agents holding a game of Sumo Slammers. She pulled out her communicator to double check she was in the right area, but spotted Junior across the street. He spotted her at the same time and raised a hand over his head, waving it at her.

"Alice!" Junior called out to her, standing on the sidewalk directly in front of the house with the tree.

Alice waved at the boy and crossed the street (looking both ways out of habit), coming to a stop next to him.

"Good morning," Alice greeted. "Is this Billy's house?"

Junior nodded. "Yeah. He's inside with Irwin. Haven't had a chance to ask him since he's been playing _President Evil_."

Alice nodded in response. Since they were going to have to wait for Suzy, Alice turned her attention to the strange anomaly of the yard.

"Is the tree okay?" Alice asked, pointing at the hanging tree.

"Yeah, it's fine. It's actually a talking tree," Junior answered. "His name is Elderich Johnson Liar, and he's a thief.

"HEEEEY! GOOD MORNING TEAM SUPER STARS!"

Alice startled at the loud voice, and Junior groaned out of exasperation. Turning as one, they spotted a Monkey Skyway Agent flying through the air, holding onto their third teammate Suzy. The two touched down seconds later, Suzy first, and then the Skyway Agent afterward. Suzy patted down her hair, which had been messed up due to the flight over.

"Thanks for the lift, Griffin," Suzy said cheerily, skipping away.

The monkey grunted, and joined his fellow Monkey Agents in their game of cards. Suzy skipped over to her teammates, waving to them as she approached.

"Morning, Team Super Stars!" Suzy repeated.

"Good morning," Alice greeted the girl.

"That's the last time I let you choose our name," Junior grumbled.

"Oh, stop whining," Suzy said, waving a hand dismissively at him. "You've been doing it six days counting."

"Because of all the things you could call us, you went with _that_ ," Junior complained.

"Well Alice likes it, right?" Suzy asked, turning to look at her fellow female teammate.

"I don't mind it," Alice answered.

Junior released a loud sigh of exasperation.

"Heeeey. What's with all the noise out here?"

As a team, the three turned to the new voice. Billy was standing on his stoop, the back of his hands resting at his hips. Standing at his side was something small, green and with red eyes. Alice's eyes widened as she recognized what it was, and Suzy immediately called upon her Camp Oar. The redhead took a step forward, pointing her weapon directly at the Fusion Spawn. Her advancements were halted by Junior reaching out and grabbing her wrist, the one holding her weapon.

"Hold on, hold on," Junior said. "I know what this looks like, but it's not a Spawn."

"Junior, do you need a new pair of glasses?" Suzy asked, an eyebrow raising upward to her hairline.

"Listen, it's Billy's pet," Junior responded.

"His name is Runty!" Billy supplied, not realizing his pet was being threatened. "Isn't he the best?"

"He named it?" Suzy asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Junior responded, sighing in exasperation. "It just appeared one day, and the thing won't stop following him around."

"He even calls me papa!" Billy cooed, lifting the Fusion Spawn up into the air and smothering it in a hug.

Alice studied the boy and the Spawn, mystified. The Spawn, contrary to its nature, wasn't trying to bite Billy. And holding it didn't seem to harm Billy's skin. Looking closer, she saw how the Spawn cozied up closer to the human's leg. The behavior was odd, but even odder was that Alice felt she was missing something. She couldn't finger it, but it was at the back of her mind.

Suzy looked to be holding a debate, whether or not she could trust Billy and Junior's words. After a short debate, Suzy returned the Camp Oar to her communicator, and Junior released his hold on the girl's wrist.

"Well, he is actually pretty cute," Suzy commented. "But let's get down to business. What do you need, Billy?"

"Some garlic," Billy answered.

No one spoke for a solid three seconds, before Junior let out a flat "What?"

"There's vampires! I can't let them have my blood!" Billy complained. Still held in his arms, Runty purred in agreement. "I need garlic to keep them away."

"You want us to get you garlic to stave off _Fusions?_ " Junior questioned.

"Uh-huh!" Billy said, nodding his head excitedly. "And if you get it for me, I'll tell ya where you can find a wishing skull."

" **Absolutely not** ," Junior denied, crossing his arms.

"Why not?!" Billy whined.

"For one thing? I've dealt with that skull, and I don't want anything to do with it," Junior said, laying down the law with his cousin. "For another thing, I'm not getting you garlic. Go ask your mom."

"But I don't want to die from the Bloodsuckers! They'll suck my blood!"

"Billy, they're Fusions! Garlic won't actually work against them!" Junior argued.

"But think of the skull, Junior! You could make _any_ wish."

"Hard pass," Junior responded.

"Awwwww~wwwhhh. But doesn't a wishing skull sound _exciting_?"

The newcomer's singsong voice brought an immediate end to the conversation. A chill ran down Alice's body as she realized that there was a person next to her, and this person's red claw was wrapped around her shoulders. Shakily, Alice's eyes travelled up the arm and to the face it belonged to. Looking down at her with his nearly ever-present smile was Townsville's number one terror: _Him_.

The demon of untold power and unknown origin was smiling down at her, his grin unspeakably unsettling. Alice didn't dare move out of his hold. For one thing, her body was frozen on the spot. For another thing, she didn't want to give him any reason to attack her.

"My, my. What's the matter?" Him asked. "You were so lively just seconds ago that I just _haaaad_ to see what was going on."

"Wh-why are you here?" Junior questioned, trying to look brave.

"We~ll, with Mandy away in the desert, I thought I'd come and house sit for her. Make sure that no Fusion Monsters tear up her home." Him was trying to sound like he was doing this simple act of kindness, but none of them was fooled for a moment. Him never did anything out of the kindness of his heart. He wanted something, but none were going to open up that Pandora Box.

"Hmmm. Well you lot are no fun," Him complained. His eyes returned to Alice, a predatory glint in his eyes. "But you-"

His claw moved closer to Alice's face, and the act caused a survival instinct to activate within her. A bubble made of energy formed around Alice, pushing Him off of her. The demon disappeared in a poof of smoke and fire, but appeared a second later, his lobster claw slamming down on her protective bubble. Alice shrieked at the surprise attack, but her bubble held. Him didn't make an attempt to strike the bubble again, and weirdly enough he didn't look upset. His grin was nearly splitting his face in two, the tips practically touching his ears.

"Oh I _was_ right," Him said, his high pitched voice dipping into a lower octave. "You _arrrrrre_ interesting."

Alice forgot to breathe. She did _not_ like the implication behind his words.

"Well, there are things I must do. Mr. Quackers and I have a bubble bath appointment to keep," the demon remarked, his voice once more high-pitched. "Toodaloo~"

Once more, Him disappeared in smoke and fire. The group waited for five seconds, just waiting for if he'd pop back in. When he didn't return, the group found it possible to breathe again. Alice dropped her protective bubble, and Suzy dropped down at her side, laying a hand on the alien's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"Y-yes," Alice answered, her voice trembling.

"I knew that guy was supposed to be helping our side, but I didn't think he'd be here," Junior remarked, his brows furrowing in distress. "I thought he'd be hiding out in the Underworld."

"Well, luckily he didn't actually _do_ anything," Suzy commented, helping Alice back onto her feet. "We'll just try to keep our distance with him."

"Soooo. How about that garlic?" Billy asked.

"No!" Junior snapped. "Billy, the Fusions don't follow the same rules! Garlic won't do anything to keep the Bloodsuckers away!"

Billy opened his mouth, to argue further, but Junior cut him off.

"And no, I don't care about the Wishing Skull," the half-demon retorted. "If that's all you called us for, we're going to leave."

"Wait!" a voice from inside the house shouted.

The team of three tensed, just in case it was Him again, but thankfully it wasn't someone so scary. Irwin peaked his head out of the doorway, looking at the three.

"If you're looking for something to do, I could use some help," Irwin said. "My gramps just called, and some Bloodsuckers ran off with his cape. They're in Eternal Meadows Cemetery, and he needs it back."

"That doesn't seem so hard," Suzy replied. She glanced at her teammates. "What do you say?"

"It's doable," Junior answered. He sent an annoyed look Billy's way. "Better than getting garlic."

Billy, recognizing a jab had been made at his expense, stuck his tongue out in retaliation, and Runty mimicked the action.

Alice bit her bottom lip, feeling a shiver go up her body. They had to go to the cemetery? Where her mother was buried? Her mother, who she had yet to visit and lay down flowers? Part of her wanted to say no, but she had to force that voice to the side.

"O-okay," she answered.

Suzy nodded, and shot a thumbs up at Irwin.

"We'll take the job!"

* * *

Endsville bled into Eternal Vistas, but the spooky atmosphere never changed. The atmosphere was why Alice always disliked going through it, since she felt like some monster was going to come up out of the ground and snatch her. She hadn't outgrown that fear; reality morphed it. Instead of unknown monsters, it was Fusion Monsters. The Spookas came too close, but were easy to get rid of.

"Are you okay, Alice?" Junior asked.

"Yes," the blue-haired teen answered. "They didn't get me."

"I meant about Him," Junior clarified.

Alice flinched at the demon's name, and she wrapped her arms around her body like that would stave off the chills.

"I...I'm doing better," Alice answered. "He just...scares me."

"He scares everybody," Suzy replied. "So don't feel like you have to put up a brave face."

Alice nodded, but it didn't make her feel better. What did Him want with her? Why would he want something from _her_? She wasn't interesting, and she wasn't the Powerpuff Girls. Did...Did he know she was an alien? Did that fascinate him in some way? Alice shook her head of the thoughts and forced it into the back of her mind, because the three had made it to the cemetery's gates, and she needed to focus on the task at hand.

"Okay, Irwin's on his way to his Grandpa's retirement home, so once we get the cape, we'll deliver it there," Suzy explained. "Since the cemetery is huge, I'm thinking we should split up to cover more ground. Junior, go to the left. Alice, to the right. I'll go up the middle. That good with you?" She received nods of agreement from her two teammates, which brought a smile to her face. "Great! Call in once you get it. Ready? Break!"

Suzy ran for the cemetery gates, calling out her Camp Oar to her hand. Junior followed, taking a left once he got inside. Alice was the only one left standing outside, staring at the sign. She was hesitant to go inside, considering the last time she'd been there, but her teammates were counting on her.

Taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves, Alice entered the cemetery and took a right.

Suzy had told Alice to take the right side of the cemetery, and so she had stuck close to the gate and followed its path. However, that ended up bringing her to a clan of Spookas, who were not her targets. She had fought off five of them before turning back the way she came, travelling back to the gate entrance to start over. When she was within eyesight of the entrance, she spotted a Bloodsucker and fired a ball made of energy at it. It didn't have a cape, so Alice went after the next Bloodsucker that was nearby. She went upward, going northeast through the cemetery and fighting the Bloodsuckers she encountered. By the time she had made it to the halfway point in the cemetery, she had fought seven Bloodsuckers, and was encountering a pack of three who had tried ambushing her. She deflected the globs of Fusion Matter they sent at her with her energy shield, and fired off an energy beam at the three, cutting them down in the middle. She held in a sigh that not a single one had the cape. She hoped Suzy and Junior had better luck than her.

"How peculiar you are."

Alice gasped out of surprise, caught off guard by the voice's sudden appearance from behind her. She whirled around and stepped back, putting some space between her and the stranger. Her eyes nearly doubled in size when she took in the stranger's appearance. He was tall, towering over her to the point that he was almost casting a shadow down unto her. He was young with skin so pale it almost looked pink and white hair cut at chin length. She couldn't see his eyes, which were protected by a pair of red-tinted goggles that only unnerved her. His clothing looked like he'd gone back in time and picked them up straight from Victorian England, complete with a black, wide-brimmed fedora. To Alice, he looked like a vampire. That in itself shouldn't have been so concerning since she was sent on this job by the top vampire, Dracula, but there was an air around this stranger that was mysterious, and considering where they were, it sent alarm bells in Alice's mind to get away from him right now. Fear was the only thing keeping her from actually running away.

If the stranger was shocked or offended by Alice's reaction, he didn't show it. In fact, Alice was having a hard time reading his emotions; his face was closed off, making him even more eerie.

"Wh-who are you?" Alice questioned.

"Classified," the stranger answered.

Alice frowned lightly at the answer, although that made her wonder. He wasn't near any gravestones. What was he doing here?

"Are you here to visit someone?" she asked.

"I'm here on classified business."

He walked forward, right towards her. Alice tensed at the movement, frightened that he was going to initiate a fight. She'd never been in a fight with a human before. School bullies had only pulled her hair, but didn't try hitting her, and she never fought back against them. She wasn't used to combat with a being made of flesh and blood. He was only inches from her, but he didn't reach out to hit her or grab her. Instead, the man walked past her without a second glance. She let out a breath she had been holding in from anticipation, and felt a small sense of relief flood her systems. That relief was gone when the hair stood on the back of her neck. She spun around, expecting him to hit her from behind, but the stranger continued to walk away from her, his back toward her. So it wasn't the man's surprise attack she'd sensed. It took her a second later to correctly identify the feeling.

"Wait, sir! Stop!" Alice cried out, her arm flung outward in his direction.

The stranger didn't listen to her and continued forward past a Fusion Matter covered mausoleum. As he was passing by its entrance, the wooden doors burst outward. If the stranger hadn't ducked in time, he would have been hit by the wood splinters. He got back up, but didn't have enough time to defend himself from the Bloodsucker that burst forth through the opening it had made. The Fusion Monster was centimeters from the stranger and would have been able to touch him if it wasn't for the shield that Alice materialized between the stranger and the monster. The monster roared in aggravation, but roared even louder when Alice used the shield to push the monster into the mausoleum wall. She kept the vampire inspired Fusion Monster pinned to the wall, but felt it resisting and pushing back.

"Please back up," she urged the stranger.

"Drop your shield," the stranger ordered, getting to his full height.

"I will, but-"

The stranger dropped into a fighting stance, one she didn't recognize. "Do it."

Alice stared at the stranger like he was crazy, but did as he stated. She couldn't have held it up any longer, anyways, since the monster kept wiggling to get out. With its freedom returned to it once again, the Bloodsucker wasted no time in launching forward, aiming for Alice instead of its original prey. The monster never made it to its mark.

The stranger shot off from beside Alice, moving faster than she believed a human person could go. He caught the monster in the neck, swinging around so that he had his feet on the monster's back, effectively riding the monster. Alice watched in amazement, not believing that someone would dare to do such a thing. The Bloodsucker did not share in Alice's amazement; it was annoyed that someone was stepping on it and tried to reach for the man with its claws. The stranger put the Bloodsucker into a choke hold, tightening his hold whenever the monster tried to make a swipe for him. The vampire Fusion Monster moved around in an attempt to throw the human off, but he held fast to the monster's neck, cutting off more oxygen every time the green creature tried to throw him against a tree or the side of the mausoleum. Eventually, the energy it was exerting and the lack of oxygen it was receiving began to slow the monster down, and when it was at a stage where it wouldn't be a problem, the stranger pulled out a cylinder shape item the size of a baton from his pocket and jabbed it into the back of the monster's head. The baton lit up and electrocuted the Bloodsucker, sending massive amounts of voltage into its body before it burst. Fusion Matter fell into a puddle and the stranger landed on his feet, one knee bent.

Alice moved closer, wary of the stranger still, but also wanting to ensure he was okay. Fusion Monster's skin could burn when exposed to it, and the man had just put the creature into a choke hold. A quick scan at his clothing showed no burn marks on his sleeves.

"A-are you okay?" she asked.

The stranger regarded her as he got back up on his feet, looming over her once more. She didn't feel the need to take a step back, and maybe that was because something about his posture didn't seem so intimidating anymore.

"Yes, I am fine," he said, his tone actually managing to lose its edge. "Thank you for your earlier assistance."

"I didn't do much," Alice admitted, dropping her eyes to her shoes. "You fought the Bloodsucker."

"You protected me from its initial attack," the stranger pointed out, and his statement had Alice looking back up at him. "You even tried to warn me about it." He paused, as if recalling something. He raised an eyebrow upward, staring at her inquisitively. "You were aware it was in that mausoleum, weren't you?"

"I had a feeling it was there," she acknowledged. "I didn't know what type of Fusion Monster it was, but I felt it there."

"Is that normal?"

Alice blinked, coming to the very sudden revelation that yes, yes it was normal for her to sense monsters. She'd been doing it from the very start. Even when one snuck up on her, she'd always known it was there. She'd been so busy that she had never stopped to think about it.

The stranger was staring at her intently, clearly waiting for an answer, but then his face shifted and returned to its neutral look, save for the fact the left corner of his mouth lifted upward. He probably had the answer figured out.

"Clues."

Alice blinked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Where had that come from?

"Sorry?"

"Earlier, you asked me what I was doing. I'm looking for clues. Titan hasn't been spotted recently, and so I'm searching for it. My scanners indicated this is where it had been most recently."

Titan rang some bells for Alice. Like Megas, it was a mech that fought against giant monsters that the military couldn't handle. The last time there had been any word on Titan, it was before the invasion. The disappearance had been a hot topic for the first few days, but when there had been no sign of the mech, it was ruled to be missing or covered in Fusion Matter like Megas.

Another hero missing. The thought made Alice's heart twitch.

"Can I help?" Alice asked.

"No. I have eyes and ears searching for it everywhere. I came to check on this personally," the stranger answered. He paused, possibly thinking over something. "However…" He pulled out a tablet that was surprisingly not produced by DexLabs or Mandark Ind. She didn't recognize the manufacturer, and she didn't feel brave enough to ask. He held the tablet up to her, and showed her an image of two armored beings, one large and purple and one small and gold. "I'm also looking for my colleagues. If you see either of these two, let them know I'm looking for them. They have something to do with Titan."

"Okay," Alice agreed, memorizing the armored beings. She blinked and looked up at him. "But how? I don't know who you are."

The stranger pulled the tablet back and put it in his inside coat pocket, releasing a short chortle as he did so. Alice deflated under the noise, because it sounded almost condescending. She didn't think it was a stupid question, but maybe it was. Maybe she was just supposed to look in the index and find him that way?

"Solomon," he answered her, and her troubled thoughts halted.

"I'm-"

"Alice," Solomon finished. "I know."

Alice's blood ran cold and her breath left her. How did he know? She reviewed their entire conversation and found that she hadn't introduced herself at all. So how did he know? Alice's terror must have been visible on her face, because Solomon released another short chortle and it definitely sounded condescending. He turned and continued further into the cemetery.

"H-how?" Alice asked.

She didn't elaborate what she was asking about, but Solomon knew all the same. As he was departing, he turned his head over his shoulder and sent her a sly smirk.

"My business is in the extraterrestrial."

Solomon disappeared into the foliage without another word, leaving behind a frozen Alice. The alien girl's communicator demanded her attention almost immediately after he left, giving her little time to mull over the encounter. A holographic screen projected from the center of the communicator, and Suzy's head and shoulders appeared on the screen once she answered the call.

"Hey Alice!" Suzy greeted, raising her hand and waving. "Junior's got the cape and is waiting at the entrance. Meet us there."

"Okay," Alice said, nodding.

"Are you okay?" Suzy asked, her cheery tone turning worried. She narrowed her eyes to scrutinize the other girl closely. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine," Alice answered. Suzy didn't look convinced, so Alice followed it up with something truthful, "I don't like being in the cemetery."

A look of understanding fell on the other girl's face, and she nodded. Her suspicions went away instantly, and a sympathetic smile spread out on her face.

"Okay, see ya at the entrance," Suzy said in parting, ending the call.

Alice pocketed her communicator, and after a quick glance in the direction Solomon went confirming he was no longer in sight, she headed for the entrance. Her encounter with Solomon was strange, but learning she could sense the location of Fusion Monsters was the strangest. Why could she? Was this a trait all aliens had, or just her? She could probably ask Max or Ben, but... She shook her head of the idea. They were busy with more important things than her.

Junior and Suzy were waiting at the cemetery's iron gates when she made it to the entrance. Junior spotted her first and tapped on Suzy's shoulder to get the girl's attention since she was busy typing away on her communicator. Suzy looked up and grinned at Alice, pleased to see she'd made it.

"Welcome back!" she greeted, pocketing her communicator. "We've got a new job after this."

"Where?" Alice asked, taking her place between the two.

"The Collector's Emporium," Suzy answered. "My friend Carl is there, and he needs us to come meet him. He's got a job for us that he wants to tell us in person."

Alice nodded in understanding. The Collector's Emporium was in Pokey Oaks South, which was only a town over. It would take them little time to meet up with him there. The familiar opening notes of _Trip McCoy: Galaxy Boy_ sounded from Suzy's direction, and the girl looked at her communicator quickly.

"I can't believe that's your NanoCom's ringtone," Junior grouched, crossing his arms. "That show's boring."

"One, it is not," Suzy countered. "And two, that's not my ringtone. It's Carl's. I give everyone close to me personal ringtones so I can identify them easily." A Cheshire grin spread across her face. "Don't think I didn't notice your _Sassy Cat_ ringtone."

Junior's face turned an interesting shade of pink as he sputtered out about how "It's Billy's fault! He messed with my _Hokeymon_ ringtone!" Alice stood off to the side, her brows furrowed in confusion at the foreign word.

"NanoCom? What's that?" Alice asked, drawing her the attention of her teammates.

"What do you mean?" Suzy asked, looking at the blue haired girl in surprise. She pulled out her communicator and waved it around. "It's this."

"But...isn't it a communicator?" Alice asked, still confused.

"It was, but it became a NanoCom an update ago when they became capable of housing Nanos," Suzy answered.

Alice was only more confused.

"What's a Nano?"

* * *

**"Greetings.**

**"With DexLabs' latest update, the capability to store and care for Nanos is now available. Nanos, the newest breakthrough in scientific discovery, are the creation of DexLabs Inc. and Mandark Ind. They are the miniatures of Earth's heroes, villains, and the in-betweens. Capable of offensive and passive abilities, they are designed to combat Fuse and his army. In order to create a Nano, the user must have a substantial amount of Fusion Matter, an item that is a representation of the Nano's person, and the user's imagination to purify the Fusion Matter. The best way to obtain the item is to face off with the counterpart's Fusion, which had stolen the item to begin with.**

**"Your NanoCom is only capable of holding three Nanos at a time, but you can have more than three. Nano Stations have been placed up around the world to provide easy access to all your Nanos. You can switch out your Nanos or change their powers at these stations. There is also a Nano Book that has been installed with the update, enabling the owner to look at what Nanos they have, and what powers they possess.**

**"Using your Nano in battle is the same for your weapon or items, so it should be familiar. Simply wave your hand over the NanoCom and either think or call upon the Nano of your choice.**

**"For any concerns or troubles with your Nano, please send an email to douglas.mordecai@dexlabnetwork.com."**

* * *

Chibi Computress' form blipped out of existence, the recording finished and automatically turning off. Alice stared down at her NanoCom, feeling a little stupid that she hadn't bothered to check for any updates. Had this been on the news and she didn't notice because she wasn't watching it?

Suzy was walking right beside her, a hand lightly touching her arm to guide her as they walked. After stopping at the Home of the Ancients to deliver Dracula's cape, the team was making their way for The Collector's Emporium. Junior was taking lead, keeping Fusion Monsters at bay with the whack of his tentacles. The recording had just finished right as they were crossing the line into Pokey Oaks South.

"Computress mentioned Fusions," Alice began, turning her head to look at Suzy. "What are those?"

"Fusion copies. Think of them as evil counterparts, even to the villains," Suzy explained. "When you beat one up, they sometimes drop an item to make a Nano. Like for me, I had to fight a Fusion Numbuh Five, and I used the item it dropped to make a Nano Numbuh Five."

Alice thought over the answer and nodded in understanding. That was what Chibi Computress said, but having a visual example made it easier to understand.

"Are they powerful?" she asked.

"Not extremely, but they're tougher than the Boss Fusions," Suzy answered.

"Think of them like generals," Junior contributed to the conversation. "They don't roam with other Monsters, but they do command a small number of them."

"I..I can't recall seeing a Fusion," Alice admitted, feeling stupid.

"That's because the majority like to hang out in lairs," Suzy stated. "A few can be found roaming around, but they're rare."

"And they're in the Fusion Book?" Alice asked.

"Some," Junior answered. "As more Fusions are spotted, the book is updated."

Alice nodded in understanding. That made sense, which made her feeling even stupider for asking such an easy question. She dropped her eyes in shame.

"I'm sorry for asking so many questions."

"Awh, don't feel bad Alice," Suzy reassured the girl, squeezing the alien closer to herself. "It's good you're asking questions! That's how we learn."

"But you two are more experienced," Alice pointed out.

"That doesn't mean much. We just got in this earlier than you, but it doesn't change anything. After all," Suzy winked at the blue-haired girl, " _we_ weren't the ones who fended off a Boss Fusion single-handedly."

Alice averted her eyes to the side and blushed under the praise, but it did lift her spirits. They'd been working together for a little over a week, and in that time, Alice had assumed she'd been bringing them down because of her lack of experience, but they didn't hold it against her.

"Okay, we're here," Junior announced, coming to a stop.

Alice wasn't a stranger to comics, although she didn't read them often. She liked reading from novels, but she did have a few issues of _Freedom Gal_ and _Pony Puff Princess_ on her bookshelf. However, she had never actually stepped foot into the comic book shop; her purchases were typically through The Collector's Emporium's online store.

The Collector's Emporium was massive. It wasn't intimidatingly large like the Treehouse or the skyscrapers of Tech Square, but the building did have a sign depicting the silhouette of the Collector himself, Lenny Baxter, looking down on the customers as they approached the building, which was terrifying. Raised above ground level with stairs leading up to the double-door entrance, there was a courtyard on the property, lined with benches for customers to sit and read their newly bought books on, as well as statues of comic books depicting some of the Collector's product that could be found inside.

Although there were Newspaper Ninja wandering the area, none seemed to be getting close to the property. It was like they were purposefully avoiding the place, which would explain why the property looked untouched from Fusion Matter. As the group walked up the steps, Alice noted how their group was getting looks from the customers who were just a little older than them. It made her apprehensive of entering the shop, but Suzy was at the door, holding it open for them.

Stepping inside, Alice was taken aback by how many bookshelves lined the store's walls'; they practically reached the ceiling with how tall they were. They were quartered off into sections based on their genres, like sci-fi, action, romance. Posters, wall-scrolls and cardboard cut-outs of the various franchise like _Sumo Slammers_ , _Yipper_ , _Monsters & Mazes _and even _The Great Funtime Adventures of Bunny Bunny and Friends_ were on the walls or hanging from the roof. Giant life-sized statues for _Dinobonoid_ , _Sassy Cat_ , _The X-Treme Adventures of Brandon and Mallory_ , and _Action Hank_ were put in their genre specific area.

As they moved through the store, Alice spotted a table with a sign that said "Science Fiction Books of the Month" and, passing by, she spotted books for _Space Wars_ , _Star Check_ , _Trip McCoy: Galaxy Boy_ , and _Doctor Time Space and the Continuums_. She turned away from the books, wrapping a hand around her midsection. She noticed Junior was eyeing some _Spore_ books as they passed the horror section. Suzy noticed, too.

"We can do some purchases later," Suzy announced, giving the interior a sweeping look. "Right now we're looking for... Carl!"

Junior and Alice jumped at Suzy's suddenly raised voice. A few of the nearby shoppers were startled too, and some even turned to give Suzy an annoyed look, but Junior's glower had them turning back around. Suzy remained oblivious to the looks she had received (or just plain ignored them) and pointed at the counter. There, holding a conversation with Lenny himself, was Carl.

Carl jumped in surprise from the call, and turned around to find who called for him. Lenny, looking relieved to be out of the conversation, moved away from the counter and into his back room.

"Suzy!" Carl greeted back in his loud, nasal voice.

Junior actually shuttered at hearing the nasally voice and slowed down so that he reached their target last. Suzy had all but sprinted to her friend, giving him a hug when she reached him. Alice stood at a respectable distance away.

"Thanks for coming!" Carl said, returning the embrace before letting go.

"Obviously," Suzy responded. "So, what can we help you with?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" Carl asked, gasping in surprise. "The lead actor from _Space Wars_ is in town!"

"Hold on, what?" Junior asked in confusion. "Who's in town?"

"Marcus Porknoll! He plays Loukas Oceanroamer! You must know him," Carl insisted.

"I know _of_ him," Junior countered. "Besides, why would he be in town?"

"You don't believe me?!" Carl asked, his voice sounding scandalized at the idea he wasn't believed. "I heard him! I would think I, who has watched _Space Wars_ in every form of media they've ever produced at least thirty times, would know the sound of Marcus Porknoll!"

Junior, looking annoyed with the conversation, opened his mouth, but Suzy stepped between the two and held up her hands in their direction, putting a stop to an impending argument.

"Where did you hear him?" Suzy asked diplomatically.

"Yesterday, I was on my way home and was passing by Candy Cove. I heard his voice coming from that area," Carl replied.

"I doubt he's in-urgh!" Junior rubbed his arm, running his hand over the spot Suzy had just hit.

"You want us to get his autograph?" Suzy guessed.

"Would you?!" Carl asked in excitement. "I'd go myself, but I'm waiting for Lenny to hand out the next issue of _Justice Friends._ It's reported that Monkey will be-"

"Hold on, you can't seriously think some big-time actor is in this area," Junior cut in, looking at Carl like he had lost his mind.

"I don't think it, I _know_ it," Carl countered.

"Candy Cove isn't far," Suzy pointed out. "We can check it out. We'll report back with the results."

"You're seriously thinking of doing this." Junior sighed in exasperation. "What do you think, Alice?"

"I...I don't mind looking," Alice answered.

Suzy grinned and sent her a thumbs up. "That's two-to-one. We're looking."

Junior sighed and shook his head. " _Great_."

"This is just one giant goose chase," Junior complained. "Do you _really_ think Porknoll would be out here?"

His question was directed at Suzy, who was leading the group of three through the streets of Candy Cove. The suburban housing district looked bare of any inhabitants, and every once in a while, the group had to dispose of some Barrel Bashers who thought taking on a group of Earth inhabitants was a good idea. So far, there was no sign of Carl's beloved actor, although this was something Junior knew would happen. He just didn't think Suzy, who had a good head on her shoulders, would fall for such a thing.

"Dunno, but that's why we're here," the redhead answered with a shrug, which was _not_ the answer Junior was looking for. She looked away from Junior and focused her attention on Alice, who was walking just a little behind her on the left. "How about you, Alice? Do you think he's out here?"

Alice looked over at Suzy, blinking in confusion. She felt uneasy walking through Candy Cove, and not just because of all the Candy Pirate forts that were set up in house lawns. Since entering Candy Cove, the hair on the back of her neck had stood on end, and she had the distinct feeling that they were being watched. She had been so focused on her worries that she hadn't been listening to the conversation between her two teammates.

"I'm sorry. What happened?" she asked.

"Do you think Marcus Porknoll is in Candy Cove?" Suzy repeated.

Alice frowned in thought at the question, but her attention was pulled away to her surroundings. She looked back over her shoulder, the sense that someone, most probably a Fusion Monster, was watching her coming back tenfold. It wasn't the same feeling like when the Barrel Bashers attacked, and that made it all the more confusing. It was like they were being tracked, but she couldn't tell from where exactly.

"Is everything okay?" Junior asked when they didn't get a response out of her.

Alice forced herself to look away, bringing her attention to her two compatriots. The two of them were staring at her with matching looks of concern.

"I...have this feeling that something is following us," Alice admitted, rubbing at her arm.

She couldn't outright tell them about the fact that she had an internal radar when it came to Fusion Monsters. Without them knowing this and without her having any proof, it felt silly to say out loud. Junior frowned and gave their surroundings a sweeping look, trying to see if he could pick out anything that didn't belong. He couldn't see anything immediately, but he made a guess anyways.

"Could be some Candy Pirates," Junior pointed out, speaking just a bit louder so that if Candy Pirates were eavesdropping, they'd hear and know that the three were on to them. "They took over this area and could be hiding to ambush unsuspecting visitors."

"If so, that's pretty rude of them," Suzy commented, her lips forming a frown. "We're supposed to be on the same side."

Immediately, the incident involving the Delightful Children sprung to Alice's mind, and she looked to Junior to see his reaction. A dark look was on Junior's face, and his lips were curled enough for his teeth to be seen, but he kept silent. It had only been a couple days since the incident, and it was still clearly a touchy subject for the half-demon.

"Maybe," Alice conceded, although thanks to the conversation she'd had with Solomon at the cemetery she knew it wasn't Candy Pirates.

"Hey Suzy, where is this taking us?" Junior asked, noticing that they were heading for the forest that surrounded the neighborhood.

Suzy hummed and looked at her map, zooming in further to see where their destination was.

"Into the Candy Pirates' camp."

Junior and Alice stopped at the answer, looking incredulously at their redhead teammate.

"We're going _where?_ " Junior demanded.

Suzy continued forward, waving her NanoCom in the air. "This is leading us into the Candy Pirates' camp."

Junior spurred to action, running forward and getting in front of Suzy. Because he was standing in her way, the girl stopped, raising an eyebrow at him quizzically.

"You want us to go in _there?_ " Junior demanded.

"I've been there before, and had no problems," Suzy answered breezily.

"So you want us to trust them?" Junior questioned.

"Yep," Suzy chirped, sidestepping Junior and continuing onward. "C'mon you two!"

Junior frowned at Suzy's back. He was still clearly displeased with going into the encampment, and Alice didn't blame him. The villains were supposed to have entered a truce with the heroes in the fight against Fuse, but Alice didn't exactly trust them.

Suzy was at the edge of the neighborhood when she realized the two weren't following her, and so she stopped and turned to address them.

"You guys, trust me. We have a truce," she implored to them. "The Candy Pirates are working closely with Double D to protect the candy that Fuse is hunting, so we've got a working relationship that is beneficial to both parties. So long as both sides have something to gain, this will work out."

"They're _pirates_. They don't follow the rules," Junior stressed.

"They'll follow these because they love candy. Trust me," Suzy responded. "Now c'mon, we're almost done with Carl's request."

Junior and Alice shared another look with each other, wondering if they could trust Suzy's word. Finally, after a silent moment, Junior released a sigh and walked over to join her. Suzy smiled brightly and spun around, leading the way into the forest. Alice hesitated in following after the two, feeling like a pair of eyes were on her once more. Looking over her shoulder, she sought out who was spying on her, but found nothing - or no one - there. Shaking off the feeling, Alice jogged to catch up to her teammates, falling into line next to Junior.

The trio walked up the hill that separated the pirates' encampment and the Candy Cove residents, reaching the peak of the hill in a matter of seconds. The encampment looked empty, with only a handful of Candy Pirates hanging around underneath the tents that had been built. In the middle, circled by the tents, was a roaring fire, and beside that fire was Captain Stickybeard, barking out an order to one of his underlings. Suzy led her team down the hill to the outer ring of the pirate village, passing by the Monkey Skyway Agent that was stationed at the place.

"Ahoy, Captain!" Suzy greeted the Candy Pirate captain, waving a hand over her head wildly.

The Candy Pirates that were stationed at the camp immediately jumped to action, pulling out their candy-cane swords and pointing them at the intruders. Alice tensed up and Junior fell into a fighting stance, but Suzy observed the pirates with little fear.

"Awh, don't be like that," she said. "We went through this last time. We're on the same side here."

"Aye, she be correct," Stickybeard's voice spoke up, floating over his band of pirates. "Lower yer weapons."

The Candy Pirates did so swiftly, looking to their captain for further orders. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the pirates back to their stations. Without the obstacles in her way, Suzy approached Stickybeard with a grin on her face. Casting a look of suspicion over the captain's underlings, Junior followed after her, Alice sticking to his side.

"Afternoon, Captain," Suzy greeted, lifting up her NanoCom. "You didn't happen to see an actor come this way, did you?"

"Yer bothering me and me crew for that? I thought ye were here to rid me of the Fusion pest," Stickybeard stated.

"What Fusion?" Junior asked, his suspicious look turning into interest.

"Me crew didn' get a good look at it, but they said it looked like one of 'em Powerpuff Girls, but a boy," the captain explained.

Junior and Suzy's eyes widened in interest, but Alice's eyes doubled in fright. Learning about Fusions was scary enough, but one of them was a _Rowdyruff?_ Was it exactly like the real Rowdyruffs? How powerful was it? Could it even be stopped? She was slightly alarmed that Junior and Suzy weren't as worried as her. They actually looked excited by the prospect of facing down such a potentially powerful Fusion.

"A Rowdyruff Fusion? Never heard anyone say they spotted it before. Which way did they see it?" Suzy asked, her eyes sparkling.

Stickybeard indicated to the hill the three had just come from. Suzy saluted the captain, flashing him a bright smile.

"Have no fear, _mon capitaine_! Put your trust in us, and we'll take care of this baddie for you!" Suzy assured the candy captain.

Captain Stickybeard frowned at the elated girl, probably dubious someone their age could actual take on the Fusion, but he shrugged. He really had no other options available, so why not?

"Knock yerself out."

* * *

"I-I don't think this is safe," Alice voiced her concerns.

"It'll be fine," Suzy reassured the girl. "In a group of three, it'll be easy to handle."

"I've soloed mine," Junior contributed to the conversation, his tentacles already out and waving around in preparation. "They're tough, but not unbeatable."

Alice followed behind her teammates, not feeling as confident as them. Although Suzy had reassured her that a Boss Fusion was just a little under Fusions in terms of power, that still didn't put Alice's mind at ease. Not with the way the hair was standing on the back of her neck. That earlier feeling of being followed, of a predator stalking its prey, was back in full force. It had disappeared moments after they entered the Candy Pirates camp, but now that they were back scouring the neighborhood, their pursuer was back to following them. It was stalking them, waiting for its time to strike.

"Alice?"

The hand Suzy put on her shoulder had her jumping since she hadn't noticed the human's approach. Suzy's concerned eyes met Alice's panicked eyes.

"Alice, are you okay?" she asked. "You've been spacing out recently."

Alice looked away for a second, but then looked back up at Suzy and Junior.

"I think the Fusion is close by," Alice elaborated. "I...I can sense it."

"You can sense Fusions?" Junior asked in surprise.

"Yes," Alice answered. "I've...I think I had this since the beginning. Today, in the cemetery I...I ran into someone that made me realize I could detect them."

"So can you feel something?" Suzy asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Yes. But just a general feeling. I can't pinpoint where it is exactly," Alice answered.

"Could you try?" Junior questioned. "Would it be easier for you if we stood still?"

Alice thought the question over. "Yes, maybe."

"Okay, give it a try," Suzy said, resting her Camp Oar on her shoulder. "We'll keep an eye out for the thing."

Alice nodded in agreement, and closed her eyes. She had never tried seeking out a Fusion or even the Fusion Monsters before, so she wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but she had to try. She tried focusing on where she was feeling the eyes. She could feel some other Fusion Monsters nearby, but none of them _felt_ like the predator. Then, slowly, she could pin-point the feeling. It was a strong monster, and there was no doubt in Alice's mind that it was a Fusion. It was the Rowdyruff Fusion.

Alice's eyes flew open in alarm. "In front of us!" was the only warning she could give before the Fusion made its appearance.

The Fusion rose from up behind a Candy Pirate fort and shot at the three, moving so fast that Alice didn't have time to throw up a force-field. The Fusion, indeed a copy of Boomer (weirdly enough wearing a straw hat), punched Alice in the chin. The force of the hit had Alice knocked off her feet. She flew back a couple feet and landed on the asphalt, shoulder first. She distinctly heard her teammates scream her name, but the Fusion was upon her again. It pulled back its fist and delivered three blows to her face. On its forth attempt, Alice threw up a force-field and threw the Fusion off her. The Fusion stumbled back, and that gave Alice enough time to sit up. She caught a glimpse behind the Fusion, and found that Junior and Suzy were being tied up with several handfuls of Swashbuckler Spawns. Her momentary distraction had given the Fusion the chance to grab her by her neck. With a tight grip around her neck, the Fusion rose into the air, bringing Alice along. The girl panicked and tried to break the Fusion's grip, but it was tight. Maybe it was because Fusions were naturally strong, or maybe because it had inherited Boomer's real strength. Whichever the answer, it was clear Alice couldn't break free through physical strength. Alarmingly, they were moving further and further from the ground, and the air was thinning. She was either going to be choked out, or lose air. Focusing, Alice raised up her hand and sent an energy beam at the Fusion's head. The blast hit the Fusion square between the eyes, and it released its hold on the alien. Alice gulped in a great deal of air, but it came out as a gasp as she came to the realization that she was _falling._

Her scream was caught in her throat, incapable of escaping. She moved her eyes from the ever-approaching ground to the Fusion above her. It was getting over the injury, and soon it'd be coming for her. She could throw up a force-field to protect her, but it wouldn't do anything in the long run. Fusion Boomer had the advantage since it could fly, and could just pick up any one of them and drop them like eggs. If only she could _fly._

Alice's eyes doubled in size at the thought. Fly? Hadn't she hovered just over two weeks ago? That was sort of like flying, right? The Fusion had fully recovered, and pivoted so that it could catch up to its prey. Closing her eyes, Alice thought back to what Blossom had taught her. _"You have to focus and concentrate on your power. Think about what you want to use, and harness that power."_ Focus. She focused on the idea of not falling. She focused on being light as a feather. She focused on flying like a bird.

Alice's descent began to slow. The rush of the wind in her ears dimmed to nothing. It felt like she was floating. Eyes flying open, Alice glanced behind her and saw that the ground was still below her, and she wasn't rushing down to meet it. A quick look around found that she was indeed hovering in the air. She looked down at her hands, and she was outlined in a bright blue energy. It was mesmerizing, but she couldn't focus on the changes so soon. Throwing her head back up, the Fusion was nearly upon her. She threw up a shield to protect herself from the initial strike, and then shoved the shield at the Fusion. It was caught off guard by her ability to fly, and so it tumbled in the air from the thrust. With the Fusion disoriented, she shot off an energy ball. The hit clipped the Fusion in the shoulder.

Fusion Boomer snarled in rage, upset that it was hit for a second time. It shot off an energy beam of its own, and Alice dodged to the right. She raised her hands and formed a bubble around the monster and began shrieking the bubble. The Fusion struck the bubble, and because of how powerful it was, it took five hits to break out of the bubble. It shot at Alice and managed to land a hit in her stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of her, but she was able to raise a shield to protect her from the next strike. With how close the Fusion was, Alice decided to do something risky. She dropped her shield, and the Fusion thought this the perfect opportunity to strike her, but she positioned her hands on either side of the Fusions head and sent off an energy beam from both hands. The beams hit the Fusion's head, causing the creature to scream out in pain. It writhed in the air, the pain causing some short circuiting in its mind. Through the pain, the Fusion managed to send an energy ball at Alice, forcing her to stop her attack.

Although it was free from the energy beams, it had little energy to keep itself up in the sky, so it fell to the ground. It hit the ground and created a crater where it landed. Alice followed it to the ground and looked around for something to use against the creature. Spotting a medium-sized stone, Alice lifted it from its place on the ground and sent it through the Fusion's body. The final blow brought down the last of the Fusion's health. The body dissolved into Fusion Matter and was sucked in by her communicator. The straw hat Fusion Boomer had worn floated downward, landing on an item that had fallen out of the Fusion's person. Alice touched down next to the hat and moved it. She picked the item up and turned it over in her fingers, confused on why the Fusion would have a baseball.

"Alice!" Junior called.

He and Suzy, unharmed and completed with finishing off the Swashbuckler Spawns, jogged over to her side. Both of them sighed in relief when they saw that Alice wasn't majorly hurt.

"It dropped this," Alice announced, showing the two the baseball.

"Oooh, that must be the item that was used to make the Fusion, and it can be used to make its Nano," Suzy explained. "We can make one at the Cul-de-Sac Nano Station."

"Behind Eddy's throne," Junior added.

Alice paled slightly at the mention of Eddy's name. She hadn't spoken to the boy since their last encounter. She had been doing a good job of avoiding him, but her efforts were now to be thwarted. What would Eddy say to her? He had been upset with her after her battle with the boss monster, but he hadn't yet banned her from his kingdom. Maybe he was no longer disgusted with her?

"This is so exciting! I wonder what a Boomer Nano will be like?" Suzy pondered.

"That'll have to wait. We've already got things to do," Junior stated.

"The Cul-de-Sac is right over there," Suzy countered, pointing at the cardboard fortress that could just barely be seen from their position. "I'll message Sticky on the way over, and then go back to Carl after."

"But the actor…" Alice trailed off in confusion.

"Oh, Carl was just getting him confused with Stickybeard," Suzy answered. "They do sound similar, and that's why-" she held up her NanoCom and waved it around, "I recorded a bit of the captain to get a soundbite for Carl. Once he hears it, he'll realize this is who he heard."

"Suzy….did you know this entire time?" Junior asked the girl, his voice a mix between suspicion and annoyance.

"I had an inkling that Carl was mixing up Sticky with Porknoll, but I wasn't going to say anything until I had some evidence to back me up, which I do now," the girl answered him. "Besides, this worked out for the better. Alice now has a Nano! C'mon, this will be exciting."

Suzy looped arms with Alice and led the way to the Cul-de-Sac, a simmering half-demon following behind. Along the way, Suzy sent a message to Stickybeard that his Fusion problem had been taken care of. Stickybeard was beyond pleased that he had one less problem to contend with (offhandedly mentioning an attempted mutiny in his ranks, but Suzy didn't ask for more details).

The Cul-de-Sac was a popular place in the Suburbs, but the place seemed especially packed when the trio entered. Wilt was busy talking with a volunteer, but he did spot them and give a very brief wave. Ranger Joey was missing from his spot by the Imaginary Friend, which made Alice curious.

Eddy's throne had a mob of volunteers around him in an arch, listening to some sort of lecture from the short member of the Ed Trio. Toward the back of the arch, Alice could see Ranger Joey. The Urban Ranger looked downright aggravated in having to be at this lecture, and Alice didn't risk drawing his ire onto her.

A little ways off from the throne, ignoring the lecture, Double D was busy typing away at his NanoCom. He perked up when he saw the three approaching him, and he stuffed his NanoCom away.

"Salutations! How are you today?" Double D asked.

"Alice here is about to get a Nano," Suzy announced.

Alice flushed because Suzy was making it sound like a big deal, yet the tutorial had made it sound like such a normal addition to the war. Even still, Double D's eyes lit up like this was some big revelation.

"Incredible. Who?"

"Boomer."

Double D paled slightly at the mention of the third Rowdyruff. Boomer was an anomaly. Very recently, back before even the invasion, Boomer hadn't been spotted with his troublemaking brothers on their routine destruction of Townsville. Many speculated that something bad had happened to him, though recent talk on the forums said that he had been spotted hanging around Foster's Home, cleaning up some of the Scribble Spawns that infested the property. It made some wonder if he was still a problem or was trying to do some good; others thought it was just an act. Alice didn't know where she leaned on the matter, but she was feeling apprehensive about getting the new Nano; what if the characteristics it took on were his villainous ones? Could she handle a rebellious Nano who wanted to do harm instead of good?

"The Nano Station is right there," Junior informed Alice, stepping up on the other side of her and using his hand to indicate to the sole station sitting directly behind Eddy's throne.

Alice jumped slightly, since she hadn't been expecting him to speak so close to her, but she recovered herself with a nod. She stepped away from the group and moved toward the station, noting how similar it looked to the kiosks used to hand out the communicators after Fuse's invasion. Chibi Computress appeared on the screen, explaining how the process worked.

It was easier than Alice had anticipated.

First, Alice had to put the item that Fusion Boomer dropped into the slot that was lit up. The screen went blank for a second before showing a silhouette version of what she assumed was the Boomer nano. Second, she had to set her NanoCom in the imprint on the console. She had to line it up perfectly so that Fusion Matter could be transferred out of the NanoCom into the station. The screen that showed the silhouette turned from black to green, but no defining features were to be seen. Third, and the actual last step in the process, was for Alice to think about the Nano, which Alice remembered Chibi Computress discussing from the tutorial. She had to use her imagination to purify it of its wickedness. Maybe….even tweak his personality a little?

Closing her eyes, she imagined what a Nanoized version of a Rowdyruff would be. She put her hand on the scanner, which was how all of this came together. The screen that showed the green silhouette began to expand on the Nano's features: skin, hair, eyes, mouth, ears, freckles, hands, feet, clothes. When it was finished, the station let off a high-pitched **DING** and a small sliding door opened, revealing the compartment that hid the Nano as it was being formed. The Nano was awake, floating in the empty space within the compartment.

Alice stared at him. He stared back.

Then, cautiously, he floated out of the station, approaching Alice slowly. As he crossed the short distance, he kept flinging his eyes left and right, as if looking for someone to pounce him. When the Nano was within touching distance of the girl, he stopped. He didn't do anything more, just stared at her. Although worried that the Nano may take after its original, Alice recognized that she'd need to initiate conversation with the scientific wonder.

"Hi," she greeted the Nano.

"Hi," the Nano mirrored, sounding like a child and not like a teenager. "I'm Nano Boomer."

"Alice," the girl introduced herself.

The Nano smiled a tiny smile at the mention of her name, and the worry Alice had carried in her chest dissipated at the smile.

Maybe having a Nano wouldn't be so horrible.

" _Awwwwwwwwwwh_! This is the cutest!" Suzy cooed, startling both owner and Nano.

The Nano, recovering the fastest, zipped around Alice and put himself between her and the other three. He dropped down into a fighting stance, arms up and ready to strike. Alice spun around and caught him in one hand, holding him back from advancing on her teammates. She didn't know what he could do, and she didn't want him testing it out on Suzy and the boys. The Nano struggled for only a moment, not under the same thinking as Alice, but then he got a good look at the three and stilled, looking at them in confusion.

"You're not Fusion Monsters," he pointed out.

"Nope! One-hundred percent human," Suzy replied. She thought of it for a moment and then pointed at Junior with her thumb. "Well, he's fifty percent human."

Junior's eyebrows dropped in annoyance, but he bit his tongue. The Nano continued to eye them suspiciously.

"You're not going to hurt her?" the Nano continued with his interrogation.

"No way. We're friends," Suzy proclaimed.

Alice blinked, surprised at the admission. Alice had always referred to them as her teammates, but Suzy thought they were friends? Suzy wanted to _willingly_ be her friend? The Nano's suspicious look dropped into a relaxed one.

"Oh, okay then. I'm Nano Boomer."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Suzy, and this is Junior, and the one with the sock hat is Double D," Suzy introduced, pointing at the person when she named them.

Alice watched as Suzy engaged her newest Nano in conversation. She blinked, still stunned that Suzy would refer to them as friends. And although Junior and Double D didn't say it, they also didn't refute the claim at all. It was stunning because no one ever wanted to be Alice's friend. She was the weird kid with the blue hair that was picked on relentlessly. Yes, people were nice to her, but she didn't think they were friends. She had assumed that Suzy and Junior saw her as a teammate, but they saw her as a friend?

"Alice?"

Alice startled at her name. Double D raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think you heard us," Double D said. "Suzy and Junior are grabbing some Mung Daal's to celebrate. I was saying we should get a table."

"Celebrate? What are we celebrating?" Alice asked.

"Well, there's the Nano," Double D pointed out. "And I heard you can sense Fusions and fly."

Alice nodded slowly, numbly. It was still a surprise to her that she could do all that.

"I think those are some things to celebrate," Double D claimed. "Now, if you don't mind retelling it, could you explain how exactly you can sense Fusions? That sounds fascinating."

Her mind flashing back to the Professor's eagerness to learn more about her powers, a small smile of affection crossed her lips.

"I'll do the best I can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting off 2021 with a bang!
> 
> This chapter, perhaps moreso than any other, has gone through so many revisions. Nothing I worked, and so I had to move around the puzzle pieces.
> 
> Alternatively, this chapter can be known as the chapter with the most in-universe references. I spent an ungodly amount of time coming through various Cartoon Network show wikis just to find in-universe media and franchises. I have a notepad file saved with every franchise I know of. If you want the list, PM me.
> 
> There are several missions mentioned or used. Billy's attempted mission was in reference to "Wish Upon a Weirdo." Irwin's is "The Grooviest Fusion (Part 1 of 3)." Carl's is "The Mark of a True Nerd." Stickybeard mentions a mutiny from the "Avenge the Sweet Revenge" storyline. The Wishing Skull is a reference to the Thromnambular and its subsequent mission line.
> 
> Solomon and the Titans crews almost didn't make it in. When I first began this, I hadn't yet seen Sym-Bionic Titan. During the summer, I watched all of it on Netflix and fell instantly in love, so I had to find a way to work them in. Having Solomon be in the cemetery went with his overall spooky atmosphere. The Titan crew won't be making regular appearances in the story, but there'll be mention here or there.
> 
> Marcus Porknoll is an allusion to Mark Hamill. Lucas Oceanroamer is an allusion to Luke Skywalker. Since Space Wars was an obvious reference to Star Wars, I decided to try coming up with fake names to allude to. I almost changed Space Wars to Stellar Combat, but just decided to roll with it.
> 
> Fusion Boomer wearing a straw hat is my own personal headcanon. Because Fusion Boomer had been shown in the PotD's in Candy Cove, guarded by the Swashbuckler Spawns, a friend and I joked about it being related to One Piece, and well...I may have photoshopped Luffy's straw hat onto the Fusion, so now I have it in my head that Boomer's Fusion counterpart wears a straw hat. On the topic of Fusion Boomer, because we never got to actually see him in FusionFall Legacy, I had to come up with the item for his creation and the Nano's. I also had to come up with a Nano power and name, which will be shown later on.


	7. All Before Noon

The hinges on the iron gates of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends creaked as Alice pushed one side open. Dawn had only broken half an hour ago, so there was no one up and running around; even the Timber Terrors patrolling outside the property were few in numbers. They became even fewer when some tried to attack Alice and she disposed of them. Although there was no sign of the Scribble Spawns, Alice made sure to keep an eye out for any movement as she crossed the distance from the gate to the door. Her attention was diverted to the construction being done at the top left corner of the property. She could see the Mandroids rolling around the area, and there was an electronic sign in front of the fence that defined the construction limits, but she couldn't make out what the sign said. Putting it to the back of her mind, Alice continued forward, moving up Foster's steps and stopping at the grand-sized doors. She hesitated her finger over the doorbell, wondering briefly if she would be interrupting the Imaginary Friends' sleep. She closed her eyes, breathed out through her nose, and pressed on the doorbell; Frankie had told her to ring the doorbell, so it had to be okay. She stepped back from the door, to give it room for when it'd open and released another stream of breath from her mouth. Alice was just overthinking it.

Maybe a minute later, the door opened inward, and Frankie stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

"Hey Alice, thanks for coming," Frankie said with a smile. "Sorry for making you wake up this morning."

Alice shook her head.

"I'm meeting my friends over at the Cul-de-Sac already, so this works out." Alice noticed the dark circles under Frankie's eyes and became worried. "Is this too early for you?"

Frankie brought a hand to her eyes, feeling around the area and then sighing. "Nah, I'm always up at this hour. This is just stress."

"Are things okay?" Alice asked, doing a survey of the house and the property. Aside from a few mild spots of corruption, everything seemed to be okay.

"Not really," Frankie responded, leaning against the door and crossing her arms. "I've been worrying more than usual. Coco ran off just a couple days ago, and Mac went to find her, but I haven't heard anything from those two so I don't know what's happening to them. Bloo's somewhere in Downtown causing who-knows-what kind of havoc. Jackie, who thinks he's the Mystery Inc kids, accepted some sort of detective work so he's run off to Downtown, too. I'm even worried about Cheese who's completely disappeared! The only two I don't have to worry about are Wilt and Eduardo, and that's because the former is at the cardboard fortress and the latter is here." There came a sound of metal hitting metal over where the Mandroids were working, and that caused the older girl to release an aggravated sigh. "And then there's those stupid robots."

"I...was going to ask about them," Alice said meekly, worried that it may cause Frankie to blow a gasket.

"Mandark Inds is building a research facility on the property to research Imaginary Energy," Frankie explained. "He heard about what the toothpaste did for that Cul-de-Sac fortress, so he decided he wanted to see what Imaginary Energy could do. Grandma agreed to let him build a facility even though I _told_ her he's not to be trusted. Have you seen what he's wearing nowadays? Overalls and a cape? He's such a dork!" She was at this point ranting. Alice was too afraid to put in a comment, so she stood by silently and let Frankie vent; the older girl probably needed someone to vent to. "And to make this worst he's got Goo employed with him! I warned that girl not to work with him, but she's just too gullible and went to Tech Square. So, I have to worry about her, too, and what sort of experiments he's putting her through." She released a frustrated sigh and rubbed at her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologized.

Frankie released another sigh, but this one was more relaxing, like she was letting out all the negative emotions that had been bottled up inside. She smiled at the girl, looking normal again.

"No, you're fine. Sorry for that outburst. The stress, on top of the work I have to do around here, was just getting to me," Frankie said, her tone reassuring so as not to worry Alice more. "But I bet you're bored hearing about my problems." She fished into her pocket and pulled out five toothpaste tubes filled with imaginary energy. She handed them over to Alice. "A month's supply of toothpaste. I don't know what's causing them to run through their supplies so fast, but this should be more than enough to protect the cardboard fortress."

Alice accepted the items with a nod of gratitude. She placed the five tubes in her NanoCom.

" _ **Miss Francis!**_ " bellowed over the loudspeaker.

Frankie sighed, shooting the loudspeaker a silent glare. "Well, back to work." She opened the door again and gave the girl a final wave goodbye. "Stay safe out there, Alice."

"Stay safe," Alice repeated in parting, waving goodbye to the older girl.

Alice waited until Frankie shut the door. Turning, she left the property through the gate and walked toward Peach Creek Estates. When she reached the corner of the property, Alice looked over her shoulder, checking for anyone outside. When she found the area free of people, she lifted herself up into the air and flew for Peach Creek Commons.

She was still getting used to flying. Because she didn't want to fly in plain sight of others, she'd been going to the Junkyard at night and practicing her skills. She wouldn't consider herself on the same level as the Powerpuffs, but she was able to fly steadily and keep herself in the air no problem; the only thing she needed to work on was controlling the speed.

Because she didn't want any of the Urban Rangers to see her land, she went to her house and landed behind it. As soon as her feet touched the soft, Fusion Matter free grass, her NanoCom released a little chirp. She took out her NanoCom, finding it was a message from Nano Boomer. Pressing on the message, it took her to the Nano feature of the device, where she was able to see into the Nano's world. Although by default they lived in hyperspace, Alice, with Numbuh Two's help, managed to make a small world for her newest Nano so the space wouldn't look so empty. He lived on a tropical island with beach front property. His tiny house was single story and was a one room house containing a kitchenette, a table with a chair, a bed, a closet so he could change clothing (if she purchased any costumes for him), and some gaming consoles that played real-world games (his current favorite was _Sumo Slammers Online_ where he went under the name "Small-Sized Boomer"). Currently, her Nano was standing on the porch, waving his hand over his head. He wanted out.

Softly smiling, Alice closed her eyes and thought about her Nano. A second later, the Nano appeared beside her with a pop. Nano Boomer stretched his arms over his head, letting out a little contented sigh.

"Morning Alice!" he greeted happily.

Alice matched his smile, finding it easier and easier to do so. Her prior concern for what kind of Nano he'd be was unfounded. His earlier shyness completely went away when he recognized he was around safe people, and he revealed his true nature: a ball of energy. He liked to be out of the NanoCom and fly around. He was very helpful, often trying to carry items too large for him simply because he wanted to help out Alice. His helpfulness was especially useful in fights with Fusion Monsters thanks to his power: **Batter Up!**

"Good morning," she greeted back. "Did you sleep well?"

"Noo!" the Nano whined a little, drooping onto her shoulder. "Omnitrixter keeps beating my score! That guy just won't let anyone else reach the #1 spot."

Alice gave the upset Nano a pat on the head.

"You didn't stay up all night, did you?" she asked.

"...Noooooooooooooooooo."

Alice held back a laugh, although it was hard. The hesitation and then attempt to deny it was too adorable. She wasn't going to call him out on it now, but she would force him to go to bed early to catch up on his sleep. For now, they had a job to complete.

The two made their way to the Cul-de-Sac's entrance, Nano Boomer taking a ride on her shoulder. Rangers Andy and Vicki nodded at her and her Nano in greeting, with Andy hiding a yawn behind his hand. Alice nodded a greeting back at them and slipped through the entrance. Since it was still early, the normally bustling Cul-de-Sac was scarce with fighters (their label had changed from volunteers to fighters since it made more sense). While there weren't many fighters running around the Suburbs, the Cul-de-Sac had become something of a hub for them to gather to. Since it had a guide, transportation, sellers and had sturdy protection from invaders, it made sense.

Wilt wasn't in his typical spot, so he was probably still asleep. She looked for Ranger Joey, but he also wasn't on the stoop he liked to hang at. She ventured further into the Cul-de-Sac. Joey, Jimmy, and Rolf were nowhere to be seen, and Double D didn't seem to be out and about. Unfortunately, Eddy was.

The self-proclaimed King of the Cul-de-Sac was standing behind his throne. He was issuing orders to some Urban Rangers, who were building some statue out of cardboard material. Alice didn't want to go and ask him, but he would know better than most. Taking in a deep breath, Alice approached the throne set and the statue behind it. She opened her mouth to call his attention, but she didn't get the words out.

One portion, looking like it was supposed to be the torso, wasn't placed on correctly. It wobbled forward and then fell over, heading downward for where Eddy, who was directly under it, was standing. The teen yelped in alarm and raised up his arms to protect his face. Inches from his head, the falling piece came to a stop midair. Alice's hand was outstretched, her hand outlined in a blue glow that had become familiar to her. She levitated the piece back to its place on the statue-in-progress. Nano Boomer zipped over to the construction piece and helped set it in the proper place. Satisfied with its placement, the Nano retreated back to Alice's side, hovering next to her face with a prideful look on his face, his little chest puffed outward. Alice released her hold on the chest piece, watching the Urban Rangers work to keep it in place. Moving her eyes downward, she met Eddy's eyes. Seeing the wide eyes of the boy had Alice retracting her hand to her chest, her other hand clamping on the wrist to keep it from moving.

It was easy to use her powers freely when she was with Junior and Suzy. Both of them encouraged her to use her powers. Junior had experience considering his ability to freeze opponents with a stare, and even Suzy acted like it was perfectly natural to have a friend who could levitate things on a whim. But what Eddy had said to her after the High Hydro Hammer incident sat at the back of her mind, and it was a constant reminder that she wasn't normal. Her powers were dangerous, and not everyone would feel safe around her.

"Ex-excuse me," she said softly, forcing herself to maintain eye contact. "Have you seen Double D? I have a delivery for him."

The mention of a delivery shook the ruler from his stupor. He shook his head left and right, and his stance denoted an air of uncomfortableness.

"That's the toothpaste, yeah?" Eddy asked.

His tone wasn't harsh, which is what Alice had been fearing. Alice nodded at the question, not trusting her voice.

"Oh, pass us a tube, would yah?" a Ranger by the statue requested. "Our supply is bone dry like the Nowhere desert."

Alice hesitated at the request. The instructions were to hand the tubes over to Double D, not to an Urban Ranger. Her Nano, sensing her rising tension, moved further in front of her.

"This delivery is for Double D," he stated firmly. "That's who we're giving it to."

"It's fine," Eddy countered, his voice airy. "We were running low due to this." He pointed his thumb at the statue. "Sockhead will just hand them one anyways."

Alice thought it over, and then slowly nodded in agreement. It did make sense. Imaginary toothpaste had become the Cul-de-Sac's go-to adhesive due to its ability to hold - in this particular case - cardboard together and repelled Fusion Monsters. Their supplies probably went low due to the upkeep of the walls, and now with a statue to be made, they'd needed more. She pulled out a toothpaste tube from her NanoCom, handing it over to the Urban Ranger. The Ranger flashed her a grin and turned back to his project.

"You've been running those to us, yeah?" Eddy asked her, looking curious.

Alice nodded. She didn't think she was the sole provider, but she did find herself being asked by Double D or Wilt or Frankie to deliver the imaginary toothpaste quite a bit.

"You're running errands then?" Eddy further questioned her. When she responded with a nod, he continued on. "Coop's got an item that came in. I need someone to take it to him. You up for it?"

Alice didn't immediately respond. She was stunned that he'd even _ask_. She figured he was still upset about learning she was an alien. He didn't seem upset with her, and he was asking for help. Collecting herself, she nodded at him again.

"Yes, I am," she answered him.

Eddy stared at her for a moment, and Alice wondered if he was weighing his options. However, he eventually relented and looked to the side.

"Hey, Joey, get your butt over here!"

Alice turned to the boy Eddy was calling to, relieved to see that it was Ranger Joey. Said boy was over by one of the merchant stands, helping a fellow Ranger set up. He looked over at the king in annoyance.

"What do you want?" he grouched back. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Get over here and give Coop's item to Alice," Eddy ordered.

Joey looked past the king of the Cul-de-Sac and spotted Alice. She waved at him, her Nano copying her motions. He stepped away from the merchant stand and approached Eddy and Alice. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a game controller, tossing it Alice's way. Her Nano swooped in and grabbed it before she could, staring at it with stars in his eyes.

" _So beautiful,_ " he whispered reverently.

"It's top of the line," Joey agreed. "Thanks for this, by the way. Eddy here was going to have me do it, even though I've told him _a bazillion times_ that I don't run those sorts of errands."

"Quit your griping. You got another errand to run," the shortest Ed boy groused. "Take Alice to Sockhead's house. She's got the imaginary toothpaste."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You're lucky I like her." He beckoned with his head for Alice to follow him. "C'mon."

Alice plucked the controller from out of Nano Boomer's hands (ignoring his whines) and placed it in her NanoCom. She followed next to Joey, Nano Boomer hovering after her. She noticed the Ranger was heading back towards the entrance doors of the fortress. Living next to the Cul-de-Sac all those years and she hadn't properly learned where all the kids lived.

"Is Rolf in today?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, he's with Double D," Joey answered. "Double D and the other guides had some sort of voice call meeting earlier, and then Rolf was called in."

Alice nodded, relieved that Rolf was in the fortress. Aside from dropping off the imaginary toothpaste to Double D, she was picking up some items from Rolf that needed to be delived to a kid named Adam in Habitat Homes. She'd taken the job from Frankie as solo work because she was in the area and figured she could get the mission out of the way before she met with her friends in Habitat Homes.

Alice subconsciously smiled at the idea of her friends. It was a warm feeling that flowed through her. She had grown up believing herself too different from others that no one wanted to be her friends, but Junior and Suzy and even Double D had regarded her as a friend so easily it made Alice wonder if it was all in her head. The difference she felt between herself and her classmates had been her alien origin, but now that she thought about it, had _she_ been the one exiling herself? Were others trying to reach out to her but she was pushing them away instead of the other way around? She wasn't sure of the answer, and her shyness was still a knee jerk reaction, but she told herself to work on it. She liked the idea of having friends, and didn't want to lose them.

Double D's house was the house to the left of the gate entrance, which was the house Joey liked to hang out at. It explained why Joey was stationed there; aside from being a second back up, the home belonged to a guide. As Joey and her neared the house, they were intercepted by another Urban Ranger.

"Alice!" Jimmy greeted her, running up and throwing his arms around her.

The hug was quick, and he pulled away from her so she could have her space. She smiled at him in greeting. Her Nano zipped forward, flying around the Ranger's head before settling on top of his head. Nano Boomer leaned down so that he could look Jimmy in the eyes.

"Hiya!" Nano Boomer chirped, sticking out a hand. "Got a cookie?"

"Nano Boomer," Alice warned, giving him the disapproving look she'd seen her mother give her uncle when he complained about dinner being late whenever they had a family dinner.

Her warning went unheard. Jimmy fished in his pocket and picked out a cookie. He handed it to the Nano, whose eyes lightened up like the sun. He shoved the cookie into his mouth, letting out a mumbled "Thank you" as he munched on the treat. Alice held back a sigh. Every time they came to the Cul-de-Sac, her Nano always made it a point to seek out Jimmy, who always carried around snacks to give to the Nanos; this made Jimmy his second favorite person.

"How have you been, Alice?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm doing well," Alice answered. "How have things been around the Cul-de-Sac?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Same old, same old. The Kankers were caught working with Fusion Blossom."

"A Fusion?" Alice asked, her voice jumping octaves. "Why?"

"They say they didn't realize it was a Fusion," the boy gossiped.

"Fusions are _green,_ " Joey stressed. "How did they not realize it in the first place?"

"They're not very smart," he answered.

Joey stared in silence at the brace-wearing kid for a solid thirty seconds before shrugging his shoulders in defeat.

"That's fair," he acknowledged. He turned to look at Alice. "Anyways, we're probably delaying you."

"Oh, are you here on a job?" Jimmy asked the blue haired girl.

"I'm dropping off imaginary toothpaste," Alice answered. "And I need to talk to Rolf. He needs me to take paint remover to Habitat Homes."

"Three jobs before noon?" Joey asked with an eyebrow raised. "Are you trying to make the rest of us look bad?"

"I'm a morning person," Alice answered, averting her eyes to the side. "Mom worked a lot at night... so we spent the majority of the time together in the morning."

Nano Boomer left Jimmy's head and sat himself on Alice's shoulder, resting his head against hers to express his sympathy. Jimmy frowned in sympathy, patting her on the arm.

"Come on, I have to talk to Rolf, too," Jimmy said.

"I'll let Jimmy take you the rest of the way. I have to head back and continue set up. See ya later, Alice," Joey said, turning around and heading back for the end of the cul-de-sac.

Alice waved at the boy, and then followed Jimmy to the doorstep. Confidently, like he's done it a million times before, Jimmy knocked on the door. They waited for a few seconds until it was opened by the kid of the house. Standing behind him was the leader of the Urban Rangers.

"Oh, greetings Jimmy, Alice," Double D said, opening the door further. "Please, come in."

Jimmy led the way inside, saluting his superior officer when he approached. Alice followed behind the boy, and Nano Boomer waved at Double D as he and Alice passed the boy. The house was immaculate, which was to be expected.

"Ranger Jimmy, what is your status?" Rolf asked of his subordinate.

"I have placed the Kankers' listening device in the public toilet at the Park n' Flush as instructed, sir!" Jimmy reported.

Seeing the bewildered look on her face, Double D quickly explained to Alice, "Some fighters sympathetic to the Kankers planted a listening device to spy on us. Sarah discovered it and went to confront the sisters while Jimmy removed the device and put it somewhere else."

Alice frowned at the explanation. She understood, but found the new location to be a rather disgusting place to situate it. Her Nano didn't agree, because he giggled a little and gave out an approving, "Nice!"

"Excellent work, Ranger Jimmy," Rolf complimented his subordinate. "Now, head to Sector V Treehouse. Numbuh Two requires Urban Ranger assistance. Report immediately!"

"Yes sir!" Jimmy said, hustling out of the house.

"Now then, what brings you Alice girl?" Rolf asked, turning his attention on the girl who was still in the house waiting.

"You have a delivery for my team to take," Alice answered. To further clarify, she added, "To Habitat Homes."

"Ah yes! For Lyon boy," Rolf answered. He dug into his pocket, searching it for a few seconds, and then pulled out a gallon aluminum can of paint remover and a set of scrappers. "Here we are."

Alice accepted the items and placed them in her NanoCom, mildly wondering _how_ all of that fit inside of Rolf's pockets. She didn't bother questioning it since it would probably be more confusing than helpful.

The mission, as it was written on Help Wanted, was that Billy painted over some Re:Fuse posters down in Habitat Homes. Because of that, the Fusion Monsters in the area went on a frenzy and started attacking the school and the surrounding homes. Adam had reached out to the Urban Rangers for help, and Rolf had put forth the job for someone to deliver the items to the boy and to help him remove the paint.

"It was Wilt who told us that the posters were made by Imaginary Friends. They were made to demoralize the monsters, and I guess it worked. At least until they were painted over, and then the monsters became even more violent," Double D remarked. She could almost see the gears in his head working as he followed his logical thought. "It is astounding how Imaginary Energy works when in the vicinity of a Fusion Monster."

Alice thought back to Foster's Home, and the Mandark research facility that was being built. Frankie had her reservations about Mandark learning about Imaginary Energy, but maybe Mandark was right. Maybe there was something there to study and follow. Since its completion, the Cul-de-Sac fortress has withstood attacks from the Fusion Monsters and it's even repelled them from attacking. Nanos had their Fusion Matter purified with imagination. Now there were the posters in Habitat Homes which determind the mood of the invading aliens. Maybe it was important to see the effects of imagination on Fusion Monsters and see if they could use it to stop the war.

Alice's NanoCom beeped, breaking her thoughts. She glanced at it and found that it was a message from Junior. He and Suzy were already at Habitat Homes, waiting for her.

"I'm sorry, I -"

"It's alright," Double D reassured her. "It's more important to get those posters back in working order. I don't think Charles Darwin Middle School can take more hits."

Alice nodded her head in agreement, and said her goodbyes to the two. She exited the house, and left the fortress, heading for her home. She could take the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. or the bus slider to Habitat Homes, but she wanted to continue practicing her flying skills. It was still early enough no one would notice. She put Nano Boomer back in the NanoCom with the order to get some sleep. Although the Nano had been upset, he ultimately complied with only a pout. Checking left and right to make sure no one was in the area, Alice launched herself into the air and made for Habitat Homes.

* * *

Suzy and Junior were waiting for her at the tennis courts in front of the heavily infected Charles Darwin Middle School when she touched down. The Skyway Monkeys were already set up, too enthralled with their game to notice her flying in. Alice's friends were accompanied by who Alice guessed was Adam and, surprisingly, Billy. The cap wearing boy had Runty sitting on his head, and the boy didn't look very happy.

"Hey Alice," Suzy greeted. She extended a hand at Adam. "This is Adam."

"Uhh, hi," he greeted.

"Hello," she greeted back, before looking to Billy. "Uhm..."

"I brought him," Junior answered the unspoken question. "He caused this mess, so he can help clean it up."

"I didn't cause this though!" Billy argued.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Junior said sarcastically, rolling his eyes for good measure. "It was an elephant."

"It was!" Billy cried. "He said he'd pay me five dollars for every poster that was messed up, so I had it done! I'm a victim."

"No, _I'm_ a victim of your stupidity," Junior retaliated. He rubbed at his forehead in an attempt to stave off a migraine.

"Where did you see this elephant?" Suzy asked.

"Well, I was just minding my own business when he came to my house! He offered me the moneys and even gave me a hall pass so I could go into the school and use his place, but some monsters took it while I was messing up the posters!" Billy explained.

"Wait, was this elephant green?" Adam piped in with his questioning.

"Uh-huhs!" Billy answered with a rapid nod of his head. It was a wonder Runty didn't fly off. "He was green and stood on two legs."

"I've seen him around here," Adam remarked. "It's a Fusion."

"Hmm..." Suzy muttered to herself, a fist at her lips as she went into deep thought. "I didn't know Raj had a Fusion."

"Who?" Junior asked.

"You know hims?" Billy asked, already hoping he could somehow shift the blame.

"Not the Fusion, but I know who it's based on. He's a Bean Scout," Suzy explained.

"Do you just know everybody?" Junior asked sarcastically.

"Almost," Suzy teased back.

"Well...it makes sense a Fusion would do this," Adam commented.

"We'll deal with that after," Suzy said, taking charge. "Right now we need to fix the posters and get things back under control here."

"That means _all of us,_ " Junior stressed to his cousin. "You had a hand in this mess, so you're going to have a hand in fixing it too."

Billy crossed his arms and huffed in indignation. Runty, not being able to cross his arms due to lacking those appendages, simply mimicked the huff.

"Alice, you have the things, yeah?" Suzy asked.

Alice nodded, pulling the items from her NanoCom.

"Excellent," the redhead complimented. Taking the can and scrappers from the blue haired alien, she handed out the scrappers to the team. "There's four posters that are effected, and Adam's already identified where they are. What I'm thinking is we'll split up into teams of two. Junior, you have Billy. Alice, you have Adam. I'll be on my own team."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Adam asked. "These monsters have been in a frenzy since the posters were defaced."

Suzy winked at her fellow redhead and called on her Nano. Nano Numbuh Five appeared next to Suzy, doing a little backflip in the air before settling down on the girl's shoulder.

"Nano Numbuh Five's special ability is sneak, so I'll stay under the radar," she explained, earning nods from her two teammates. "Now then, since Adam knows where these posters are, we'll give him the paint remover." She handed the container to the boy, who held it with both hands. "He'll go to each poster, and we'll come through and start peeling them off. When we're finished, come back here. Understood?"

The group, even the reluctant Billy, nodded in agreement. Suzy clapped her hands together and grinned.

"Great! Let's get going then. Lead the way, Adam!"

The first poster was on the house next to the tennis courts. Ramcycles patrolled the area, but thanks to Nano Numbuh Five's sneak power, the group went unnoticed. Adam poured some of the liquid on the poster and Suzy began peeling it off. With the first poster being taken care of, he led the group of now four to the next poster. Alice was reluctant to leave Suzy on her own, but she had to tell herself that the girl would be okay. They, as a group, have separated on missions to fight off monsters before; this was nothing new.

The second poster was towards the south, sitting on a business' wall. Because they were no longer protected under Nano Numbuh Five's ability, the monsters zeroed in on the group of four. The reports on their manners were correct; the Motorillas were aggressive in their attacks, striking at Alice's protective force-field until being put to sleep by Junior's Nano Megas' special ability. With their monsters sleeping, it was easier to turn them into Fusion Matter. They reached the poster and Adam poured the remover on it. Junior and Billy took this poster; or, more accurately, Junior had Billy start taking off the paint while he and Nano Megas stood guard.

The third poster was on a house next to a Burger Frenzy. Motorillas were next to the poster, and Alice had to dispatch of them before Adam could pour the remover. Alice began working on peeling off the paint, pleased to see that it was coming off easily.

"Do you want me to continue on?" Adam asked her, giving their area a look around.

"No, stay with me," she answered him. "It'll be safer if we're-" She cut herself off as her hair on her neck stood at attention.

"Alice!" Adam's warning came in, although it wasn't necessary.

Alice spun, preparing to throw an energy shield up, but the sucker punch from the Motorilla was faster. It sent the girl flying, before she hit the ground and skidded to a stop. She got to her hands, noting that Adam had rushed to her side, asking if she was alright. She didn't answer him, her focus given solely to the Motorilla who had some buddies coming to join it. Having some backup, the three Motorillas charged for the two of them.

Alice's energy bubble came up around the two of them, protecting them from the initial hit. The Motorillas bounced off of the bubble's wall. They righted themselves and roared, pounding and smashing against the bubble in an effort to make it crumble. Alice forced it to stay in place, but she couldn't remain in a defensive position forever.

"Adam, do you have any weapons?" she asked.

"Y-yes," he answered frightfully. "B-but I'm not very good with it!"

Alice nodded to herself. That's all she needed to know. "When I drop the bubble, please run for cover."

Adam hesitated, but nodded quickly. With the knowledge that Adam understood her directions, Alice dropped the bubble just as the Motorillas were striking it, catching them off-balance. Adam ran as soon as the bubble dropped, like he had been instructed to do. Alice sent out an energy projectile in the shape of an arc, hitting all three Motorillas and pushing them backwards. Before they could stabilize themselves, Alice formed energy spheres in her hands and threw them at the three monsters. She didn't let up, but when the Motorillas started swiping at the energy balls she knew she had to change her strategy. Bringing her hands together, she formed a larger energy sphere than the smaller ones she'd been using. Once it was half the size of her body, she threw it at the Motorillas, who had been approaching her in the absence of her striking them. The super-sized sphere hit all three of them, dissolving the trio into Fusion Matter. Alice released a sigh, her muscles loosening up.

"Whoa," Adam whispered in amazement, stepping out from his hiding spot. "That was cool."

"Are you okay?" Alice asked her partner.

"I should ask you that. You took the monsters down," the boy responded. "Jake's usually the one scaring the monsters off, but he's at Camp Kidney visiting his cousin."

"Have you had trouble with them before?" Alice asked, continuing her work on the paint.

"I've mostly been in my house," Adam admitted sheepishly.

Alice didn't make a comment about the admission. She wasn't in any position to judge, since she spent the early days of the war bunkered down in her home. She removed the last of the paint, amazed that the poster underneath it was basically unscathed.

"Okay," Alice said, stepping away from the poster. "Ready, Adam?"

Alice and Adam continued for the fourth and final poster. It wasn't far from the third; it was on the final building on the street. This one was unprotected from the surrounding monsters, but Alice still stood guard with a force-field protecting the two while Adam took the paint off. When they completed their job, the two returned to the tennis courts where Billy, Junior and Suzy were waiting. Junior and Suzy were in the middle of a conversation, while Billy was sitting on the floor, playing with Runty. A tendril from Junior's back was wrapped around Billy's body, keeping the boy from running off.

"Hey you two! Welcome back," Suzy greeted them. "Ready for part two?"

"Part two?" Adam parroted in surprise.

"Yep. Junior and I went looking for the hall pass while we waited."

"It was easy," Junior answered. "The third one had it."

"Since you're not a fighter, we're thinking you and Billy should head home where it's safer," Suzy told the boy.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Adam agreed.

"I was hoping you'd actually head back to Billy's house," Junior put in. "To make sure he doesn't screw something up again."

"Uhh, would that be okay?" Adam asked, looking from Junior to Billy. "I don't really kno-"

Billy hopped to his feet, getting into a Adam's face. The boy released a surprised yelp at the sudden intrusion to his personal space.

"Oooh! We can play _Sumo Slammers Online_! You gots an account, yeah?" Billy asked, brightening at the idea.

"Well yeah, but-"

"Great!" Billy cheered, wrapping an arm around Adam's shoulders. The tendril that had been around the boy's body disappeared. "Let's get going! C'mon Runty!"

Billy's little buddy hopped behind, keeping stride with the two boys.

"Alrighty, let's go get this Fusion!" Suzy declared, heading for the Dexbot that guarded the entrance to the infected zone.

Junior followed, but Alice waited. She wanted to make sure the two weren't going to be attacked. Once she lost sight of them, she joined her friends on the Dexbot pad. The Dexbot accepted their NanoCom IDs and teleported them inside the infected zone. Like with every infected zone, the gravity inside was on the fritz, having lifted large sections of land to be left hovering in the air. A large, Fusion Matter lake existed in the middle of the zone, separating the two land masses. Surprisingly, no monsters were on their side of the zone. This gave the group of three a little breathing room, without having to worry about being attacked.

"Time to check the inside of the school, yeah?" Junior asked his teammates.

"I thought about that, but let me try something," Suzy said. She held out her hand. "The hall pass, please?"

Junior handed the hall pass, which was burned because of its contact with Fusion Matter. Suzy accepted the hall pass and held her NanoCom over it. Pressing the surface of the NanoCom, a blue light ran over the pass for a second. A moment later, the NanoCom released a beep, and Suzy's face brightened.

"I can lead us right to the Fusion," Suzy declared, handing the hall pass back to Junior.

"You can?" Junior questioned, eyeing her skeptically.

"Of course. Because Fusion Raj handed this to Billy, it has its DNA all over it. I scanned it, and I've honed in on it," she answered, holding out her NanoCom so Junior and Alice could inspect it for themselves.

Suzy's NanoCom had the map feature opened, giving a detailed picture of the infected zone. On the map was a red dot that was blinking in and out of existence.

"Since when was this a thing?" Junior asked, pulling back from the NanoCom.

"Since forever," Suzy remarked, looking between her NanoCom and the infected zone. She was clearly attempting to map out the pathing. "Okay, this looks like it's on the upper flooring, so we should probably get up there."

"Since you can fly, you should scout on ahead of us," Junior instructed Alice.

Alice hesitated to comply. While it did make sense for her to go on ahead with her flying abilities, she had something else in mind.

"A-actually, I wanted to try something."

* * *

It sounded easier in concept. After getting their agreement, Alice had erected a bubble around Suzy and Junior and levitated them up into the air. She then flew with them, flying above the bubble she had made. She had been thinking of doing this sort of transportation for a while. Holding them like the Skyway Agents did was too difficult for her; she had neither the strength nor the upper body build to do so. So she had turned to her bubbles, which would be easier to carry more than one, and it protected them on the chance they encountered a flying Fusion Monster. While it was easy to start, the process eventually took its toll since Alice had to A.) concentrate on the bubble, B.) levitate said bubble, and C.) fly herself.

They crossed over the large lake of green Fusion Matter that separated the Dexbot from the school, and even snuck over the Cylomanders that were running around on the ground. Suzy pointed her to the roof on a building at the back. She managed to safely deposit her travelling partners on the rooftop with no incident, but the energy drain caught up with Alice. She lost her ability to keep herself airborne, and would have hit the roof hard had Junior not caught her.

"You okay?" he asked, keeping a hold on her so she wouldn't sway.

Alice closed her eyes for a moment, forcing back the weariness and quiseaniess. Her body was warning her she had over extended her power. When she felt the moment pass, she opened her eyes and nodded to the question she hadn't yet answered.

"I'm okay," she assured the two. "I guess I overdid it."

"You did great," Suzy assured the other girl. "You got us here faster, _and_ landed us next to the Fusion portal." Suzy used her hand to beckon at a stack of green tendrils swaying to and fro from an invisible wind. Looking at it closer, Alice could see that the tendrils were protruding from some sort of vine-like ring that even had some green-tinted bulbs growing out of it. "No one has figured out how this works, exactly, but this operates like Dex's warp pads, and it'll bring us into the Fusion lair."

"Considering this is a Fusion, it'll be like Fusion Boomer. It's going to be tough," Junior pointed out. "Are you good to fight it?"

Alice didn't immediately reply. She was definitely not up to full stamina, but she felt like she could still throw out some energy spheres, maybe even an energy blast. She couldn't do much more than that. She didn't mention any of this out loud, but Suzy took one look at her and easily read her thoughts.

"Stick close to Junior," she issued the order, still maintaining her friendly tone. "Rely on Nano Boomer, and do what you can. Don't push yourself."

Alice nodded at the order. The three moved to the Fusion portal and found their vision obscured by the tendrils. A moment later, they found themselves in an underground cavern. Suzy pulled out her NanoCom again, giving it a nod.

"I can still track it," she informed her team. "Pull out your Nanos."

Alice and Junior complied. At the same time Suzy called on Nano Numbuh Five, Junior and Alice called on Nano Megas and Nano Boomer, respectively. The miniaturized Rowdyruff looked around his area in excitement.

"Are we kicking a Fusion Monster's butt?!" the Nano asked. His blue eyes were lit up in excitement at the very idea.

"Yep! Keep up that attitude, kay?" Suzy told the Nano. "I'm sneaking us by the majority, but there may still be some that we'll have to fight, so that's where you come in, got it?"

Nano Boomer pumped his fists in excitement.

"Let's go!" he declared.

Suzy took point, leading the group into the lair. Turned out that lairs were designed to be a maze, with strange mushrooms and plants growing along the rocky walls. Nano Numbuh Five and Nano Boomer floated next to Suzy; Nano Numbuh Five was using her special ability **Secret Agent** to keep the group masked, and Nano Boomer was waiting for his chance to attack. The Ramcycles were patrolling in the lair, but they were doing so individually. Nano Numbuh Five's **Secret Agent** was able to get them past the monster, but Alice always felt like they were still being tracked.

They were probably halfway through the maze when they encountered a problem. Nano Numbuh Five's special ability was a passive ability, which meant it was in use for every second she was out of the NanoCom. Keeping three people and three Nanos was taxing, especially because she had used her powers earlier in Habitat Homes. The poor Nano hovered hunched over beside Suzy, releasing tired huffs.

"You did a good job. Get some rest," Suzy consoled the Nano, recalling it into the NanoCom. She glanced over her shoulder to Junior. "How's Nano Megas?"

Junior looked at his NanoCom, and nodded.

"He's still good," Junior answered. "We should be able to put them to sleep all the way up to the Fusion."

"Yeah, but since we're in an enclosed space, I don't want to leave them there sleeping. We'll have to fight them," she explained. She looked at Nano Boomer and winked. "You ready for this, little man?"

Nano Boomer made a hyper noise from behind closed lips, hopping up and down in midair to release some of that excitement. Suzy grinned at his enthusiasm, then looked over at Alice.

"You still good?" she asked.

Alice nodded. "I'm doing better."

"Great. Let's get going team!"

It was almost unfair how easy it was to get through the rest of the lair. Nano Megas used his **Garden Gate Slam** to put the Ramcycles to sleep and then Nano Boomer went in with his **Batter Up.** A shot from Suzy's Crayon Cannon or Alice's energy spheres or Junior's tentacles had it dissolved into Fusion Matter. They repeated the process all the way through until Suzy held up a hand to stop her team.

"The Fusion is just around this bend," Suzy announced, putting her NanoCom away. "Are we ready?"

"Ready," Junior and Nano Boomer answered back. Nano Megas nodded his little car head.

Alice hesitated. The hair on her neck was standing at attention. She extended her senses and found that the Fusion Monsters were closer than Suzy's radar was picking up.

"Something's coming," Alice announced.

Junior and Suzy tensed up, having worked with Alice long enough to know that her warnings were always on point. A moment later, a set of three Ramcycles climbed up over the cavern wall and slid down, appearing in front of Junior and Alice. While Nano Megas put them to sleep and Nano Boomer went in for the attack, Fusion Raj used the distraction to come around the bend and sneak up on Suzy. Luckily for the girl, she had seen his appearance in her peripheral and managed to spin around in time to get the first hit on the Fusion with a shot from her Crayon Cannon.

The Fusion-ized elephant roared at the hit. It made for another swipe, but Suzy was able to duck under it and get out of its range. She switched her weapons since she was in closer combat, pulling out her Camp Oar and delivering three strikes - one to the neck, one to each knee cap - before the Fusion had a chance to recover.

Alice threw up her shield, blocking the incoming strikes from two Ramcycles. Although Nano Megas' strike had knocked them out, they were stronger than the other Ramcycles the group had faced in the cavern. A strike at the motorcycled monsters had them waking up and attacking Alice and Junior. Nano Boomer zoomed past the girl and used his special ability to hit one of the Ramcycle's in the head. The injured Ramcycle growled out in frustration, shaking off the hit and ramming Alice's shield again. Alice pushed her shield so that the two Ramcycles were caught between her shield and the cavern wall behind them. With the two Fusion Monsters trapped, she pushed her shield into the wall, crushing the two monsters until they turned into Fusion Matter.

Alice looked over her shoulder, first pinpointing Junior facing off with the third Ramcycle. Nano Megas was nowhere to be found, so he was probably put away. Junior was doing fine on his own, so Alice sought out Suzy. The redhead was in battle with the Fusion, managing to dodge the Fusion's swipes. It was clearly getting angry, and threw gooey balls at the redhead. While Alice didn't recognize who this Fusion Raj was supposed to be based on, it seemed like it didn't have any special abilities like Fusion Boomer had.

"Nano Boomer," Alice called to her Nano, and then pointed to the fight.

Her Nano glanced at the Fusion, grinned, and zoomed forward at the Fusion. Calling on his special ability once more, he gave the Fusion a good whack downward on the skull. The Fusion's hands went to the injured spot, shaking its head in pain. Suzy sent a thumbs up to the Nano. She then switched out her Camp Oar for her Crayon Cannon again and fired at it three more times until the Fusion cried out in pain. It dissolved into Fusion Matter, being picked up by Suzy's NanoCom. An item fell to the ground, bouncing once before landing. Nano Boomer zipped down to it, circling it in curiosity. Suzy bent down and picked up the item, revealing it to be a retainer.

"What is that?" Nano Boomer asked, hovering next to her hand.

"An item to create Nanos," Suzy answered. "Just like you."

Nano Boomer frowned at her skeptically. She looked over at her two teammates, who walked over to be next to her. Alice put Nano Boomer back into the NanoCom since vitals showed he was at 48% stamina. Junior was eyeing the retainer skeptically.

"You're thinking of making it into a Nano?" Junior asked.

"Sure. NanoComs can hold a max of three, and Nano Numbuh Five could use a partner," Suzy answered. "Unless you want him?"

Junior shook his head. "You fought the Fusion, so you can have him."

"Alice?" Suzy asked the girl.

Alice shook her head. "I'm with Junior."

"We'll stop by the station at Billy's house," Suzy explained, putting the retainer in her pocket. "We'll also let Adam know we've handled it."

"We'd better get out of here before those Ramcycles regenerate," Junior said.

"Won't we have to encounter them on our way back to the portal?" Alice asked.

"There's two portals," Suzy explained, taking the turn round the bend and leading her team. "The second one is at the end, where the Fusions are located."

"That's not a good design," Junior pointed out.

"No, but it is useful for us," Suzy countered, approaching the swaying tendrils of the portal, which was tucked up in a little nook.

Taking the portal, they were returned to the school's roof. Almost as soon as they stepped away from the portal, their NanoComs chimed in unison. Junior pulled his NanoCom off his hip, checking the screen.

"It's from Jimmy Jones," Junior told his two female teammates.

"Oooo, a guide mission," Suzy cooed, pulling her own NanoCom out. "We haven't had those in a while."

Alice silently agreed as she looked at her own NanoCom.

**Subject Line: Nuclear Haste**

**Greetings! Kids Next Door operatives stationed with Mr. Tennyson are in need of a radioactive isotope that can only be found in the nuclear power plant. You will need to be quick about collecting it because of the possibility of radiation poisoning. Once you have the isotope in your possession, deliver it to Numbuh Two.**

**-Jimmy Jones**

"He's got to be joking," Junior grumbled.

"If that's what the KND need, it must be for something important," Suzy reasoned.

The redhead brought a hand to her lips as she fell into thought. From the way her eyebrows knitted together, Alice could tell she was pondering on whether they were going to accept the mission or not.

The nuclear power plant was a dangerous place before the Fusion invasion. Now it was extra dangerous thanks to the Fusion Matter that heavily infected the area. Between radiation poisoning and Fusion Matter poisoning, it was deemed unsafe to enter _unless_ absolutely necessary. And Suzy was right; if the KND needed something radioactive, it had to be for something important.

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other in apprehension, Alice spoke up. "I-I can do it."

"No way," Junior put in immediately. "They can't expect us to go in with no gear. The radiation-"

"May not affect me," Alice cut in. She gulped and averted her eyes away from them. "I'm...I-I'm an alien, so I may not be as susceptible to poisoning as humans."

"But we're not sure, so it's still dangerous," Junior pointed out, arguing the point vehemently. "We'll-"

"Do it," Suzy finished, lowering her hand. Her normal smile was missing, replaced with a grim thin line.

"What?!" Junior asked, looking at Suzy like he'd been betrayed.

"We'll do this. Or more accurately, Alice will," Suzy answered, looking to her blue-haired friend. "Alice can fly, and if she puts a shield up around her, she should be safe from the toxins. She's the best person for the situation, and if the Kids Next Door are asking for this, then we need to be as helpful as possible." She turned to look Junior in the eye. "That's why we're here."

Nothing was said. After a tense moment, an unhappy Junior released an aggravated sigh.

"I _don't_ like this," he stressed.

"That's fine," Suzy answered, brightening her tone to lighten the mood. "But I have faith that everything will turn out alright."

* * *

The walk from Habitat Homes to Endsville was silent and tense. Junior's aggravation had yet to let up, and although Suzy was trying to keep up a cheery mood, it was clear she was struggling. Alice didn't dare say a word in fear that she may further upset the two. She was just as scared to do the mission, but a voice in the back of her head that sounded like her mother's told her she _had to._ She was the only one in the group who could.

They stopped by Billy's house to make Nano Raj at the Nano Station situated in Billy's front yard, and they also let Adam know that he could return to Habitat Homes. The boy was extremely grateful and practically ran out of the house. Him was thankfully not around to freak out the kids even more, so with even more silence they journeyed up the short hill to the nuclear plant.

"Last chance to turn back," Junior stated just within inches of the DexLabs' warp pad.

Alice gulped, but shook her head.

"I-I can do this," she said, wincing internally at her stuttering. How was she supposed to show confidence if she couldn't keep from stuttering?

Suzy smiled at her in sympathy, giving the girl a hug. "You'll do fine. We're be here waiting, okay?"

Alice nodded, forcing her breathing to be steady. She glanced uncertainly at Junior, but he wasn't looking her way. Pulling herself from the embrace, Alice turned and stepped on the warp pad, showing her NanoCom to the Dexbot. Just as the Dexbot was activating the warp capabilities, Junior jerked his head upward and said, "Good luck." The bright light consumed Alice's vision, dimming down when she was on the other side of the infected zone. She glanced at the barrier separating her from her team, and then turned to look at the Reactor Works' layout. A few Ventilators near the warp pad turned her way, interested by the new addition.

Placing herself in a protective bubble, Alice lifted herself off the ground. The Ventilators rushed up to where she had been, hopping on their hind legs in an attempt to reach her, but she was out of their reach. Without having to worry about being attacked, Alice pulled out her NanoCom and looked at the map. The indicator was saying that the isotope was located to the east of her position. She flew over the land, looking between the area and the map. The map indicated she was close, and a look at the land beneath her showed that there was a container right where the map was indicating the isotope to be located. She lowered herself to the ground, keeping her bubble up. The container was a full head taller than Alice, but she could see the isotope, no bigger than half the length of her arm, sitting inside, hovering in space. The control panel had a slot for NanoComs, which was probably how she was to carry it.

There was two options Alice was faced with. Option one: lower her bubble completely and test her theory that her alien DNA would protect her from the plant's radiation. Option two: find a way to open a small part of her bubble to extend her hand and her NanoCom out. Closing her eyes in concentration, Alice went with option two. She imagined a small opening, just big enough for her hand and NanoCom. Alice opened her eyes, finding that the opening was exactly where she had willed it to be. Pulling out her NanoCom, she fit it through the hole and placed it on the container's control pad. A few pushes of the button, and the isotope was transferred from the container into the NanoCom, dinging when it was done. She pulled the NanoCom back into her bubble, sealing up the hole. With a few quick swipes of her NanoCom, she sent the isotope off to Numbuh Two in an email. With the mission complete, Alice looked around, finding that a second warp pad was near her. She stepped up and teleported out of the infected zone. When the light cleared, found that she was back on the outside, but not from where she had entered. Apparently, there were two Dexbots for this infected zone. She dropped her bubble, taking in a breath of fresh air.

"Alice!" Suzy called, rushing over to the girl.

Junior reached Alice first, doing a quick look to see if she had any signs of poisoning. Suzy came up next to him, also giving the girl a glance over.

"How do you feel, Alice?" Suzy asked in concern.

Alice took a moment to answer. "I don't feel any different."

"You don't feel sick? You can still see clearly?" Suzy asked.

"I'm okay," Alice answered.

Suzy and Junior both sighed in relief. Then, collecting herself, Suzy used her elbow to nudge Junior in the ribs.

"And you were worried about her," she said teasingly, her spirits raised once again.

Junior sputtered, his eyes dipping in annoyance. Alice smiled lightly at the antics, feeling warm inside that they had been worried about her. Alice's NanoCom released a chime, and she checked to see an email from Numbuh Two.

**Subject Line: Good job**

**Thanks for getting this! I've got a special container to put it in before I send it down to Ben. If you ever swing by Sector V, the pizza will be on me!**

**-Numbuh Two**

Her NanoCom, and the other two NanoComs chimed in unison with an email from Jimmy Jones.

**Subject Line: Nuclear Haste**

**Awesome! The isotope was really important to get. Mr. Tennyson and the Kids Next Door are trying to get spacecrafts lifted off from Space Port, and this isotope will help with that. Mr. Tennyson says thanks as well!**

**-Jimmy Jones**

Suzy visibly brightened after reading the email. Whatever concerns or doubts she had about accepting the mission was chased away. Alice felt her own doubts disappearing as well; if they could get some spacecrafts up into space, they may have a better chance on ending the war.

"Good job everybody," Suzy said, pocketing her NanoCom. "Especially you, Alice. I think we all deserve an ice cream break."

"Actually, I have another job to do," Alice broke in. "Eddy needs me to deliver an item to Coop. I can go by myself if-"

"No way," Suzy cut in. "Compared to what you just did, delivering an item sounds easy." She looked over at Junior. "What do you say, Nergie?"

The half-demon sent the girl a glare. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that," Junior grumbled.

Suzy shrugged. "Force of habit. So, want to join us to your favorite place?"

"Sometimes I regret teaming up with you," he mumbled.

A sly smile spread across Suzy's face. "No you don't~" she said in a singsong tone, her eyes briefly flitting over to Alice and then back to Junior.

Alice didn't understand why Junior's face heated up into a bright pink color, but she chalked it up to Junior feeling embarrassed for being teased. Having her fun, Suzy smiled like a Cheshire and clapped her hands together.

"To the junkyard!" she declared theatrically, leading the way back to Endsville.

As the trio neared the junkyard's entrance archway, the clear sounds of an argument filled the normally empty air. The group shared a surprised look with each other, but continued further until they reached the archway. They found Kiva and an unidentified robot having a full-on argument near the Dexbot. Coop and a man in a blue beanie were watching from the sidelines, looking amused by the showing.

"That robot wasn't here last time, was it?" Junior asked his friends.

Alice shook her head, looking just as surprised. The robot didn't look familiar, and wasn't in the normal color schemes for DexLabs or Mandark Inds. Its metal was greyish-brown, making it blend in with the rest of the junkyard. The robot was moving its arms around fluidly, which made Alice believe it to be more advanced than the droids employed with Dexter and Mandark.

Coop turned his eyes away from the argument, spotting the three on the other side. Grinning, he raised a hand over his head and waved at them. Encouraged by the greeting, Suzy led the way into the clearing, keeping a wide berth from the two arguing individuals.

"Hey kids," Coop greeted. "What brings you back this way? Here to help get Megas out?"

"Not today, sorry," Suzy answered. "We do have a delivery for you, though."

"Seriously? Is it the game controller I asked for?" When the group nodded at him, the hefty man pumped his fist into the air. "Awesome! I haven't been able to play any games in so long."

Alice pulled out the game controller and handed it off to Coop, who looked ecstatic to see it.

"Thanks for this, kids," he said. "Now I can finally kick Jamie's butt in _Ninja Space Patrol_."

"Not with those two making a racket," Jamie, the man in the beanie, pointed out, pointing a thumb at the verbal battle still being held between Kiva and the robot.

"On that note, what is that?" Junior asked. "I don't remember you having another robot in the place."

" _That_ is Coop's latest project," Jamie answered, taking a gulp of his drink through the straw.

The "project" heard the comment and swung around, its metallic eyebrows dripping in annoyance. It raised a digit, pointing it straight at the guy.

"I am not a _project,_ " the robot argued. "I am Larry 3000 of Time Squad."

"I found him in pieces and fixed him up," Coop added, pointing a thumb at his chest. "He's as good as new."

" _Must_ you bring this up with every local that happens by?" Larry questioned indignantly.

"It's not every day you find a robot from the future," Coop replied. He paused before adding, "Although I'm two for two, so far."

"You're from the future?" Alice asked, staring at Larry in surprise.

"That would be correct," Larry answered, puffing out his chest piece.

"Though he's not nearly as cool as Megas," Coop piped in.

" _Excuse you_!?" Larry sputtered. "Are we having this discussion again?"

"I'm just saying, dude," the hefty man responded with a shrug. "You're also from the future, but Megas is easily 10,000 times cooler than you." He was trying to make it sound like what he was saying was absolutely logical.

"I am not having this again!" Larry shouted, throwing his hands up. "We will not discuss this!"

Jamie opened his mouth, perhaps to say something in retaliation, but the future bot raised a digit at the man.

"Shut it, Jamie!" Larry snapped.

"Hold on. What the heck is Time Squad?" Junior questioned.

"Time Squad is a task force designed to ensure history is maintained and the future protected. You see, time is like a rope. It is our job as Time Squad officers to ensure that this rope does not unravel," Larry explained.

"So if you're here, something went wrong?" Suzy guessed.

"Correct," Larry answered. "I detected an anomaly in this time period, and was dispatched to handle it. Unfortunately, things went wrong. My timepod malfunctioned, and I arrived in this backwaters time period in pieces. Furthermore, I've been separated from my partner, Officer Buck Tuddrussel, and have been unable to re-establish communication with him."

"And so he's been here slouching off," Jamie remarked sarcastically.

"I am _here_ to fix the historical inaccuracy," Larry explained, and he threw a glare over his shoulder at Kiva. "And to deal with temporal criminals."

"For the last time! I wasn't trying to go this far back in time. I was going back _two years!_ "

"You're a time traveler?" Suzy gasped, her eyes brightening in excitement.

Kiva sighed tiredly, rubbing at the spot between her eyebrows.

"Can we please focus?" Kiva asked in exasperation. "There are actual more important things going on than me going to the wrong time period."

"While the statement is true, don't think that your actions will be overlooked. Once I complete my assignment and return to my time period, I will return to have you arrested," Larry argued with her.

"Excuse me?" Alice spoke up, getting the attention of everyone present. She was a little proud of herself that she didn't wilt under the attention. Maybe that was because she had something important on her mind. "What are you referring to as a historical inaccuracy?"

"This invasion," Larry answered, waving his arm outward in an arch. "Records indicate an alien invasion wasn't to take place until the year 3012." Kiva tensed at the mention of the year, but it went unnoticed by everyone except Coop and Jamie, who gave Kiva a look. "Somehow, this timetable has been sped up."

"You're saying Fuse isn't supposed to be here?" Junior questioned.

"Among others," Larry said, not even making an attempt to be subtle when he glanced over his shoulder at Kiva. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, challenging him. He turned back to the kids.

"How did this happen?" Suzy asked, looking and sounding curious.

"We clearly have a war on our hands," Junior added snidely.

"Hush your tone, young man," Larry responded sharply. "I am still working on that."

"You mean you don't _know_?" Junior demanded incredulously. "Wasn't that the _point_ of you being here?"

"What did I just say about your tone? Honestly, you could learn some manners, young man," Larry lectured. "And if I already knew what caused this, I wouldn't still _be_ here, now would I?"

"Don't lie to the kids. You're still here because your time pod is busted," Jamie corrected.

Larry spun around and pointed at Jamie, looking so angry Alice thought she saw steam coming from out of his circuits. For his part, the beanie-wearing man didn't look disturbed.

" _Not another word out of you!_ "

"I'm just saying," Jamie defended himself, raising his arms up in a surrender position.

"Don't worry, dude, we'll get it working before you know it," Coop added in.

Larry released a tired sigh, indicating that this was probably a topic of discussion on numerous occasions.

"Can we help?" Alice spoke up, getting Larry's attention.

"With this? No. I am afraid I will have to rely on Mister Cooplowski's assistance on my time pod," Larry answered, his tone less harsh. "However, I require my communicator. On top of getting in contact with my team, I would be able to figure out where exactly these creatures were supposed to be. Last I recall, this Fuse fellow was supposed to be on the other side of the universe. My communicator is still in my time pod, but some monsters have been hanging around getting their grubby hands on it. If you can retrieve it for me, I'd be grateful."

"Sounds easy enough," Suzy remarked, looking at her team to gauge their reactions. Alice and Junior nodded in agreement, although Junior's was a little more reluctant. "Which way is the time pod?"

"Inside the infected zone," Larry answered.

"I found him near Megas," Coop supplied further.

"Perfect," Suzy chirped with a clap of her hands. "We'll get your communicator no problem."

* * *

"Welp. This is a problem," Suzy commented.

The group had ventured through the infected zone, removing whatever threat passed them. They came upon Larry's time pod, and searched it for the communicator. Larry had given them a basic description of what it looked like, but they found nothing matching the description in the time pod.

"A monster probably swiped it," Junior contributed.

"But which one?" Alice asked, looking around her.

The time pod was a rock's throw away from Megas, and Scrap Tyrants and Scrap Scrappers were patrolling close by to the wreckage. It could have been any of them.

"We'll just have to take them all down until we find it," Suzy remarked, bringing out her Camp Oar. "I'll look to the south. Junior, take the east. Alice, go north."

Junior and Alice nodded at the orders. Alice moved northward, encountering a Scrap Scrapper almost immediately. She felled it, but it didn't have the communicator. She repeated this process twelve more times, all of them coming up empty handed. She was starting to have flashbacks to the earbugs, wondering why she had such terrible luck with items dropping from monsters. The thirteenth monster she encountered, however, was the winner. She sent an energy blast through its chest, dropping the monster into a pile of Fusion Matter. Falling to the ground was an item that was the exact description of Larry's communicator. She picked it up and placed it in her NanoCom before informing her teammates she'd found it.

"Great job!" Suzy congratulated her teammate when they regrouped by the S.A.C.T. agent. "I was starting to worry someone else came in here and found it, mistaking it for something else. Larry's going to be so thrilled when he sees it."

"Do you trust him?" Junior asked, looking contemplative.

"What do you mean?" Suzy asked.

"About the future. About Fuse not even supposed to be here," Junior elaborated.

Suzy shrugged. "I don't know why he'd lie about it. If you think it's too fantastical, I'll have to remind you that our world has encountered far more fantastical things than time travel."

"Yeah, I know," Junior said flatly. "It's just...the thought that this wasn't even supposed to happen just doesn't sit well with me."

Suzy looked at him and nodded in agreement.

"I know, but we don't get the luxury of thinking about 'what ifs'. Fuse is here, and we have to deal with that. We'll leave figuring out where things went wrong to Larry," Suzy explained.

Junior nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course," Suzy grinned. "Now come on. Let's get this back to Larry and go to the Cul-de-Sac. I heard the Urban Rangers got a new shipment of ice cream from the Kids Next Door!"

They exited the infected zone, appearing back in the clearing in front of Coop's trailer. Coop, Kiva, and Jamie were missing. Larry was standing next to the warp pad, almost like he was waiting for them.

"All done, Larry!" Suzy told him, stepping off the warp pad.

Alice stepped off and handed the communicator to the robot.

"Oh, wonderful work!"

"Some monsters had it, but Alice here found it for you," Suzy explained.

"Oh? How did you obtain it?"

"We destroyed them," Junior responded.

"...I see," Larry said curtly, somehow looking disturbed despite being a robot.

"So where's the others?" Junior asked. "Did you arrest them?"

"Ha-ha," Larry sarcastically said, turning his communicator on. "You must be a relative of Tuddrussell's. No, Coop and Jamie are inside playing some barbaric game. Kiva Andru departed to some place called Tech Square for reasons unknown to me."

The kids all shared a quick look with each other, but kept quiet about it. If they had to guess, she was probably going to ask Dexter, a leading mind on robotics, about how to shut Larry up. Larry didn't notice their looks, too busy fiddling with his communicator. It was on, but it was showing that there was a time anomaly right next to him, which wasn't possible. Kiva had left shortly after the kids went into the infected zone, Megas was stuck in said infected zone, and the Fusion Monsters were not as close to him as his communicator was indicating.

Seeing that they were being ignored by the future robot, the three kids decided it was a good time to leave.

"Well, we'll be off. Good luck with the time fixing!" Suzy said in departing, heading off.

Larry released a distracted sound, not acknowledging their departure. He was busy trying to fix his communicator, which was indicating that the anomaly was on the move. Deciding that his communicator was simply on the fritz, he gave it a good thwack, and the unknown anomaly disappeared.

"There we are," Larry purred, pleased that the problem had been fixed. "I'll have to give this a thorough diagnostic later before I try to get in contact with Tuddrussell."

* * *

Suzy, Junior, and Alice were in the Cul-de-Sac, sitting in the shade of a tree, having ice cream. The Cul-de-Sac was busy with fighters running around, purchasing new armor and weapons. Urban Rangers were moving about, restocking supplies or purchasing food from Mung Daal's Catering Stand. It was strange watching everyone moving around with so much energy, but all Alice wanted to do was take a nap. Granted, their day had been long.

"Soooo, I've been thinking," Suzy said out of the blue, drawing her teammates' attention. "I think we should head into the Wilds."

"The Wilds?" Junior parroted in confusion. "Why?"

"I think we've done all we can for the Suburbs. The number of Fusion Monsters here is dramatically lower than in other areas. Plus, the Wilds has seen an increase in Fusion Monster activity," Suzy explained. "I just think it's a good time for us to move onward."

"I guess that makes sense," Junior mused.

"Alice?" Suzy asked.

Alice didn't answer immediately. Aside from travelling to her aunt and uncle's house, she hadn't spent a lot of time in the Wilds. Like the Darklands, it was regarded as unruly and dangerous. However, Suzy was right. They couldn't stay in the Suburbs forever.

"Okay," Alice agreed. "Let's do it."

"Alrighty! Team Super Stars, let's meet up at the outskirts tomorrow morning," Suzy declared. She hopped up to her feet and pumped her fist in the air. "To the Wilds and beyond!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading another of my chapters! I've been going around reading other FusionFall stories, and that kicked me into gear to get this chapter worked on. I highly recommend, if you haven't done so already, that you go and read some of the recent stories posted and updated.
> 
> Goo working for Mandark is a headcanon of mine. Considering her ability to conjure up Imaginary Friends on a whim (which was toned down in her later appearances, but still), she seemed like a good fit for Mandark, who is studying the effects of Imaginary Energy. (And maybe I feel bad for the kid and want him to have another friend aside from Robot Jones, okay?) I guess she just wasn't well remembered by the OG Team to add her in, or they were just running out of spaces and had to cut down. Either way, I think her being a guinea pig for Mandark's experiments would be a good storyline for her.
> 
> I didn't recall mentioning what Nano Boomer looked like, but his Nano version is the one that was intended for FusionFall Legacy. His attack name and power is totally made up because nothing was known about what power set he'd have. Also, I just really like the idea that he conjures up a baseball bat to whack Fusions around. You may have noticed that he has a lot of personality, especially a personality that conflicts with his cartoon portrayal, but remember, he's a Nano. A Nano's personality won't always reflect back upon what their original is like, and plus I like the idea of a Nano being super bonded with their person.
> 
> The statue referenced in the chapter is a nod to Worlds Collide's WC Teaser: 08, which can be found on YouTube. It's a really cool idea for someone as egotistical as Eddy, and I wanted to add it in (plus it ties in to the imaginary toothpaste).
> 
> The mission Eddy gives to Alice is totally made up. The mission Rolf gives to Alice, however, isn't. The mission is "Beautification Mutation (Part 5)", and the group going into Charles Darwin Middle School is the follow up mission "Beautification Mutation (Part 6)" but with a tweak. Instead of Fusion Father, it's Fusion Raj. Suzy was going to get his Nano in the next chapter, but I decided to move it up one. The mission Jimmy Jones is also a game mission, "Nuclear Haste." This was also given a twist. Instead of having to go to Numbuh Two, I just had them go straight to the Nuclear Plant and then send it off via NanoCom. It seemed slightly ridiculous that they tell us to hurry because of radiation, but then are okay with us walking around with a radioactive isotope in hand. On top of that, the S.A.C.T. agents were removed from the Infected Zone. The mission was timed, stating that the player had to be quick because of radiation, so I just went with Reactor Works being so dangerous that not even S.A.C.T. agents could be inside. Larry's inclusion is based on his appearance in FusionFall Legacy. So is the mission, which is "First Contact."
> 
> Speaking of Larry, in Legacy, he mentions in "Time Run Amok" that the Earth wasn't to be conquered until 56, 897 AD, but I couldn't find any source on who this was referring to or to why. The FusionFall wiki stated it was in relation to the Glorfts, but I still found nothing in the Megas wiki to account for this, so I changed it so instead of conquer it was invaded, and put the date for 3012, which is the date the Glorfts invaded Earth (that's my guess, anyways, considering that's the year the Earth Coalition formed, and they formed in response to the Glorft invasion). Also, Larry being snippy with Kiva is because, technically, Kiva time-travelled illegally. I didn't get a chance to mention it in here, but the "others" Larry referred to was in reference to Kiva, Jack, the Scotsman, Demongo, and Professor Paradox. Of them all, Larry would probably be the most furious with Paradox since that man plays with time like it's child's play.
> 
> I've gone back to chapters two and three to add in references to Captain Planet and Titan. It's nothing important, but I put them in to be consistent with their future appearances.

**Author's Note:**

> Back in 2010, I published one of my longest stories at the time, What Gets Me Through the War. Now over ten years later, after seeing that my dear friend Buttercrush was continuing to write his Roxie story (all of you should definitely check out A Girl Named Roxie if you haven't already), I decided to completely remake it. The original story followed the game pretty closely, while this one will be following its own path with a combination of the original story, original game, Retro, and Legacy.
> 
> Fair warning for you all, not all Cartoon Network shows will be represented in this story, and not all shows that are in this story will be represented equally.
> 
> The hospital in Offworld Plaza, to my knowledge, never had a name, so I dubbed it Memorial Hospital after the hospital that Dr. Lincoln works at in "Operation: H.O.S.P.I.T.A.L." Ben's portrayal is his Alien Force portrayal, like he is in the game. In the game, his identity as the alien boy was public information, so I just used Ultimate Alien's explanation that Harangue had exposed him. I will not be using Ultimate Alien or Omniverse or the Reboot for his portrayal, and the same goes for all Ben 10 characters that will be in the story.


End file.
